


Rushing Past the Word Really

by hycanthis



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Domestic Fluff, Eventual Romance, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Gay Keith (Voltron), Happy Ending, Insecure Lance (Voltron), M/M, Minor Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Mutual Pining, Single Parent Lance (Voltron), Slow Burn, klance, past lance/nyma - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-06-24 22:06:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 37,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19732708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hycanthis/pseuds/hycanthis
Summary: Lance McClain is a man with a messy house, and messy life, and he's just trying to keep afloat. So when he realizes that the guy he yelled at in the parking lot was Keith Kogane, the brother of Shiro (CEO of successful Voltron Industries), he kinda freaks out. But slowly, they grow feelings for each other, and would be dating by now, if there wasn't one thing holding Lance back.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, let's get this story started!! It's all finished, so don't worry about no hiatuses! (`•ω•´๑)

Fact: Lance Emilio Alejandro-Charles McClain was a single father to a beautiful five-year-old girl. Fact: Lance McClain owned a beautiful four-year-old vintage Fiat. Fact: Lance McClain and his beautiful car were late for picking up his beautiful daughter at daycare. And fact, that parking spot was totally his before some jerk came over and took it.

Lance scowled as he pulled his car to the spot next to his offender. "Hey!” He rolled down his windows. "Hey, listen! That was supposed to be my spot!”

A Korean man was climbing out of his driver seat leisurely. He called out, “there's a million other parking spots though,” and Lance almost popped a vein.

Lance jumped out of his seat and slammed the car door, and the other man startled. Lance took satisfaction before yelling again, using wild gestures with his arms. “I always take that spot! You're not allowed there!”

The man quirked an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “Dude, you're acting like a five-year-old. I'm not going to move my car for you.” He scoffed and started to walk away.

Lance inhaled, his shoulders rising in agitation. Well, whatever! He didn't care about some stupid jerk. He was late to the daycare. Wait. The daycare! Lance cursed under his breath and sprinted out of the parking lot.

***

Albeit out of breath, Lance entered Altea Daycare and Kindergarten Center, silver chimes at the front door jingling noisily. A redheaded man looked up the front counter. Lance smiled apologetically.

"Hello Mr. Smythe, sir. I'm Sofia's dad?”

The old man brightened at Sofia's name. “Ah, Sofia. She's over here, come over, come!” He gestured wildly and Lance walked to the counter. “Just a second, my boy—" Mr. Smythe ducked under the counter. He grunted and heaved up a girl playing with a toy truck. She looked up and her chubby face lit up. “Papi!”

Lance grinned dopily. “Sofia!” He scooped up the girl quickly and gave Mr. Smythe another apologetic smile. “So sorry for the inconvenience, sir. First days of kindergarten, right?”

The man flapped a hand and smiled, his crow’s feet deepening. “Ah, not to worry my boy. And please, call me Coran.”

“Of course Mr. Smythe.”

Lance knew the formality wasn't necessary, but it felt so— Sophia Maria McClain was the pride and joy of Lance's life. Sophia was his mamá's middle name, and Maria was the name Lance's abuelo wished for her.

"Alright, cariño, let's give back Mr. Smythe his nice truck, alright?" Sofia pouted but held out the toy.

Coran laughed. "Oh, no need, no need! It's all yours, my girl."

Sofia gasped and grinned. Lance smiled. "And what do you say?"

"Thank you!" Sofia exclaimed, and Lance followed. Coran shook his head in amusement and shooed them out with a hand.

Lance headed to the door again with Sofia in his arms. Then he halted at the sight of a familiar back leaning on the front wall. Long dark hair pulled into a ponytail, leather jacket, skinny jeans… “What the—" Lance opened the door with a jingle, and his suspicions were confirmed when the man looked up from his phone. The guy from the parking lot.

“Hey!” Sofia startled, and Lance patted her head in quick apology. “Hey. What’re you doing here?”

The man frowned, which by now seemed to be his signature expression. “I’m waiting for Miss y'Kaebonochi. We’re going out to lunch.”

Lance scoffed. “Miss y'Kaebonochi? Tall, dyed hair, a literal dark-skinned beauty Miss y'Kaebonochi?”

The other man scrunched his nose. “Mr. Smythe's adopted niece.”

Lance nodded quickly and flapped a hand. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.” He smirked. “Miss y'Kaebonochi never fall for anybody. Trust me, I'm trying—"

“I’m her friend. I’m taking her to a family lunch,” he deadpanned.

“O-oh.” Lance halted, his expression falling into one of slight embarrassment. “Well.” He looked down at Sofia to avoid the man's gaze. “...I should get going.”

The other man nodded disinterestedly. Lance started to head over to the parking lot hastily, but then the man grabbed his forearm. He stared into Lance’s eyes intensely. Just as Lance was starting to feel a bit creeped out, the man let go. He simply said, “cute kid,” and continued scrolling on his phone.

Lance nodded back nervously. He skittered back to the parking lot and got to his Fiat. He buckled up Sofia and started up the car. He pulled out of the parking lot, his mind echoing over the man’s words. Cute kid. Cute kid. Lance looked over at Sofia in the rearview mirror. Sofia smiled over her toy truck, and Lance chuckled. “You _are_ very cute, Sofia Maria.”

***

"Sophia, how was your day at daycare?" Lance called his daughter over the sound of the sizzling pan. Sophia looked up from her coloring book and grinned.

"It was fun! There were crayons, and colored paper and Miss Allura let me draw on the paper— but not— not the wall, she said the wall would be sad. And Aaron and Jamie let me play legos with them, and then I played with El-is-a-beth"— she stumbled over her friend's name, and Lance smiled— "and then Miss Allura made everybody take a nap! And then—" Sophia stopped. Concerned, Lance turned around from piling their food onto plates. Sophia's face crumbled in distress. "I forgot the rest..."

"Oh." Lance huffed a tiny laugh and set the plates on the table. He pressed a kiss to his daughter's temple. "That's okay sweetie. I'm sure the rest of your day was fun as well." Lance help out his hands for Sophia's coloring supplies.

Sophia nodded, apparently satisfied with his answer. "So fun." She plopped her crayons and book into Lance's waiting hands. Sophia grabbed a fork and stuffed her face with chicken and rice. "Wh'd'oo'oo't'ay?"

Lance tutted and put a hand on her wrist. "Eat slowly, cariño. And repeat what you said."

Sophia continued eating, albeit slower. "What did you— what did you do today Papi?"

"Oh! Uh, well, I drove you to the daycare— that's where Miss Allura works, Sophia— then I went to my job, then I went to get a snack, then I went to pick you up. And now we're here." Lance dabbed a napkin at some spinach on Sophia's face and smiled.

Sophia pouted. "Papiiii! That's boring!" she whined.

Lance laughed. "Sorry! I guess my day's just less exciting than yours."

"No, no no no Papi, you missed the fun parts! When you came back to miss Allura's place really late, there was a funny man with an orange mustache! and— and he gave me a truck and that's cool." Sophia babbled on happily, oblivious to the way her father smiled at her. How kids saw the good in everything, Lance would never know. He didn’t deserve Sophia.

Sophia gasped. "And there was a nice man too!"

Lance blinked and furrowed his eyebrows. "Nice man?" he echoed.

Sophia nodded vigorously. "Yeah, he had the really long hair and a phone and he said something nice about me. You were talking to him." Sophia gasped again. "Papi! Is he a new friend?"

Ah, right. Lance grimace inwardly at the thought of the man from the parking lot. "Yeah, yeah, what you said," he voiced absentmindedly.

"He's a new friend?"

Lance's eyes widened. "Wait, n—" Then he spotted Sophia's happy smile. Lance could suck it up for a few seconds. "Yeah, he's a new friend."

Sophia jumped up and down from her booster seat. "That's so cool! I want to be his friend too." She giggled and picked at her food. "We can, we can color, then we can read, then— oh Papi! Can we have a playdate? Please?"

Oh _hell_ to the no. "Woah, cariño, slow down." Lance let out a nervous laugh. "He's not that type of friend yet. Maybe if we see him again you can talk to him. But for now, eat your dinner." And no amount of puppy eyes could make Lance change his mind about that.

***

Miss y'Kaebonochi was Lance's friend, and quite possibly the prettiest girl Lance had ever seen. In Lance’s eyes, everything about her was perfect— from her coffee brown skin to her waist long platinum hair to the small smudges of paint on her cheeks by the works of the daycare kids. Lance followed y'Kaebonochi on every single social media he had, and commented on every post on how beautiful she was. Lance had known Allura y'Kaebonochi for two years, and he was pretty certain that she wasn’t friends with the parking lot brute.

Lance was scrolling through his Instagram, with his back on his bed and Sofia sleeping on his stomach. He stopped at Allura’s most recent post.

It was a relatively cute photo of her and a Japanese man her age. They stood next to each other in front of a business building with wide smiles on their faces. The caption read: Third year anniversary of co-starting my business with @takashishirogane !!! <3 Thank you to all the people who supported us in...

Lance's raised his eyebrows. He didn't know Altea had another owner. Or maybe Allura owned another business...? It would explain why the two weren't in front of the daycare. Lance stroked Sofia's head absent-mindedly. Sofia let out a soft snore and Lance smiled softly. He heaved a sigh and shook his head. He could think about it in the morning. I might as well congratulate Miss y'Kaebonochi, Lance hummed in thought. He typed out a brief congrats quickly— “Congrats…on the...”— and liked the picture.

His eyes flickered to the man again. He narrowed his eyes. Something about him seems familiar… Sofia mumbled in her sleep and Lance's concentration was broken. Lance huffed a laugh and set down the phone softly. He picked Sofia up and off his stomach and into a relatively comfortable sleeping position on the bed. Lance tucked a curl behind his daughter’s ear, and pressed a kiss to her forehead. He reached over to flick off the bedside lamp, then pulled up the quilt to cover him and Sofia. I’ll check the man’s account in the morning. And then he was out like a light.

***

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Lance groaned and did a full body stretch on the bed. He noticed a weight on this stomach. He glanced down and almost choked. What the— Sofia was laying on this stomach again, in the same position she was yesterday. He forgot to put Sofia in her room. How to be a Horrible Parent 101 by Lance McClain! Sofia always shifted in her sleep, and her end result was so unpredictable, Lance considered daily to just put her back in a crib. But somehow, she always turned out to be fine. Whatever. Better her on my stomach than the other way around. Lance shuddered at the thought.

Beep. Beep. Beep— Lance fumbled for the off button. Once it stopped, he placed Sofia back on the bed and headed towards the kitchen.

It wasn't a far walk— He and his daughter didn't live in the most luxurious of places. There were two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a kitchen, all in a small apartment. But Sofia never seemed to mind, so Lance told himself he was content.

Lance yawned and walked over the plastic cars and dolls on the floor to reach for the fridge. He pulled out orange juice and a few items for two turkey sandwiches and sat at the circular table. Halfway through one sandwich, Lance heard uneven footsteps from the hallway. Lance looked up to see Sofia picking up some of her dolls.

"Hey sweetheart. Whatcha doing?" Sofia shuffled over to Lance, and he pulled her onto her lap.

She shoved a blond Barbie in a pink dress into his face. "Doll-ie."

"That's right." Lance subtly tried to look at this phone. 7:43. A few minutes until work and leaving Sofia at the daycare. After quickly telling Sofia to "stop playing with your food!" he unlocked his phone to the Twitter page. It was still left on Allura y'Kaebonochi's third anniversary with her partner, now with albeit more comments and likes. Lance tapped on the tag to the other man's account. His eyes widened to the size of saucers at the first sentence of his profile. Co-Owner of Voltron Industries.

"Holy crow," he whispered.

Takashi "Shiro" Shirogane; Co-Owner of Voltron Industries; Co-owner's page--@alienprincess; Official business page: @formvoltron

Lance laughed breathlessly. Not only did his crush own a successful business, but it was verified. Lance started scrolling through Shiro's page. He caught glimpses of family and friends, and incredibly kind and positive captions. Shiro seemed to be a normal, friendly guy (famous, but friendly), and definitely a good counterpart for Allura. Lance scrolled back up, and a post caught his eye. Posted yesterday. Spent time celebrating @formvoltron's fifteen year anniversary! Thanks to my little bro Keith for introducing me to Allura, I am forever grateful (he's the one I'm slipping my arm around, lol! :-)). The picture was a group shot of people sitting around a restaurant table, Allura and Shiro in the front. And Shiro's arm was slung over none other than the man from the parking lot. Lance slowly brought his hands up to cover Sophia's ears.

"Oh Sofia," Lance breathed out. "I think I might've fucked up."

***

Lance pulled into the parking lot and made over to his usual spot. Aaand it was taken again. Lance winced when he recognized the sleek black Honda. He still couldn't believe he yelled at the brother of the co-owner of Voltron Industries. He was going to get sued, or... or... sued! Lance paled, even though he knew the thought was silly. Probably. Lance climbed out of his Fiat and jogged towards the daycare, desperate to get the black Honda out of his sight. A dull thump halted his step. Lance twisted. The man from yesterday getting out of the cursed car. Keith Kogane. Lance gulped nervously.

Keith was walking in his direction, eyes glued to his phone. Lance stood stiffly as Keith walked, and the other man almost bumped into him. Keith glanced up in surprise. "Oh, hey."

Lance was definitely sweating now. "Hello, sir!" He considered giving a salute but ruled that out after a beat.

Keith furrowed his brow. "What?"

Oh god, maybe he should have saluted. Was it too late? Lance coughed into a hand embarrassedly. "I'm, uh, going to the daycare now." He turned on his foot and speed-walked to the daycare.

Lance grimaced. Ugh, he hated karma. the one person that had happened to take his parking spot was actually the brother of some super rich businessman. Lance quickened his pace to rid of his anxious thoughts.

Keith's steps speeded up behind him. "What was that?" His voice sounded accusing, but Lance didn't check his face to tell.

"Why are you following me?" he countered.

Keith scoffed. "I need to get used to the neighborhood, so I'm walking around."

Oh. Lance raised his eyebrow— any nervousness that came with knowing Keith's identity disappeared. "Oh. You just moved in?"

"A few weeks ago. My brother's moving closer to his business and he convinced me to tag along."

And the anxiety was back. "Well," Lance looked at an imaginary watch, “I seem to be running late, so sorry I gotta—" He laughed nervously and turned on his heel. Just walk away, walk away— God, is he following me? Couldn't this guy take a hint?

"Hey, uh, sure since I'm new, I was hoping you could show me around?"

Lance’s pace stuttered. He blinked, surprised. Lance might’ve been embarrassed, but his mamá didn’t raise him to refuse such a simple offer. "Uh, sure. I'm just on my way to pick up my kid at the daycare."

Keith nodded uncomfortably, and the two continued to walk to the daycare center, Lance occasionally pointing out the important buildings they passed by. Keith and Lance approached Altea Daycare and Kindergarten Center and the latter pushed the double doors open. Keith trailed awkwardly behind him.

Coran was at the front desk again. He lit up at the sight of Lance.

"Ah, my boy!"

Lance broke into a bright smile. "Mr. Smythe!"

"On time today, I see!" Coran chirped. He pulled out a clipboard and flipped through it. "Sofia's in..." he stroked his bright orange mustache. "Room 403."

Lance shot a quick thank you before heading down the hallway, Keith at his side.

397, 399, 401... Lance ticked off the number in his head. He spotted the little plaque reading 403 and pulled open the white baby gate. "Oh Allura!" he sing-songed.

The woman in question groaned and turned around from comforting a crying kid. "Mr. McClain," she answered, not unkindly. "You're supposed to wait outside for your child, you know that."

Lance ignored Allura's venomous tone and cheekily smiled. "I just can't resist the desire to see you!" he joked. Allura rolled her eyes and giggled good-naturedly. Lance scanned the wave of children quickly, but Allura beat him to it.

"There she is." Allura took Sofia's hand and drew out a clipboard. "Just sign here and you can take her."

Lance busied himself with the clipboard and chatting with Allura. Keith looked around the place a bit more. The room was painted a soft robin blue, with happy Crayola drawings taped on the walls. And, oh wow, the kids were unbelievably loud.

"Finished!" Lance took the pen off the paper with a small flourish, and Keith could see Allura rolling her eyes with no heat under it. "C'mon cariño." Lance held out his hand, and Sofia grabbed it. Allura's gaze flickered to Keith for a moment and she smiled, nodding her head in greeting. Then she turned away to frantically tug a toy out of a kid's mouth.

"Oh, and Allura?" The woman looked over her shoulder at Lance's voice, and the man smiled. "Congrats on fifteen years."

Allura's eyebrows shot up her head and she ducked her head down to cover her smile. "Thank you, Lance."

Lance grinned. He turned to Keith and angled his head towards the baby gate, and the two left room 403.

Keith and Lance passed Coran again at the front doors, Lance giving a cheerful goodbye, and Keith giving a hesitant wave. It wasn't until Keith and Lance reached the parking lot that Lance spoke again.

"Well, I'm heading home now, I guess," the man chuckled awkwardly.

"Yeah," Keith shifted foot to foot, looking at the ground.

  
Lance frowned in through. He turned to face Keith more. "Y'know, I didn't really show you around town today. I'm free on Saturday if you want to get coffee and a tour around."

Keith blinked and cracked a tiny smile. "Yeah. Sounds great." Keith cleared his throat. "I don't think I introduced myself. I'm Keith."

Lance shifted Sofia on one hip, grasping Keith's hand as his mind spun with the pictures of Keith and Mr. Shirogane and Allura, and the caption from the co-owner of Voltron Industries. "The name's Lance."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance tells Allura how coffee with Keith went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, there's a looot of dialogue in this one,, (lll-ω-) Eh, it's fine!

"I mean, I don't even know anymore Allura," Lance whined. He slid down his chair grumpily. The two were sitting in a quiet coffee shop, mainstream pop filtering from crackly speakers.

It's been a few weeks since Lance let Keith follow him around town and Lance hated it— in the way that even after all these weeks, Lance still couldn't figure Keith out. Thankfully, he and Allura were best friends, so Lance had someone to complain to. Allura stirred her coffee slowly. She listened to Lance's ranting casually, tuning out more than she listened to. "So let me get this straight," she interrupted. "My business partner's brother took your parking spot, never apologized for it, then asked you out the next day, and the only thing holding your relationship together is the fact that your kid is adorable."

"Well yes— wait no!— I mean—" Lance groaned again. "He didn't _ask me out_ , he asked for a look around town, and I was just too generous and kind to refuse." He sniffed, pointing his nose up in the air.

Allura snorted and shook her head. "Sounds interesting." 

Lance huffed. He leaned in close, narrowing his eyes. "Allura, I don't know what you're implying, but Keith and I are one hundred percent rivals. Coffee with him sucked."

Allura raised her eyebrows and giggled. "Ooh, coffee? Tell me how it went."

"Well..."

***

One week earlier

Lance jogged towards Altea Daycare, wind whipping in his face. Curse New York's sudden weather changes. He'd just left Sofia with Hunk and Shay, bless their kind souls. After a dozen apologies, thank you's and goodbye kisses to her, Lance drove over to meet up with Keith as promised. And here Lance was, jogging to the meetup spot, a heavy parka pulled around himself and the hood tightened around his head. 

Lance spotted Keith leaning outside the building, and he quickened his pace. He took off the hood. "Hey, mullet!"

The other man looked up and blinking. "Excuse me?" Lance slowed down in front of him and leaned against the wall.

"Mullet? Because of the whole Billy Ray Cyrus hairstyle?" Lance waved his hands around halfheartedly. Keith gave a confused look, and Lance rolled his eyes. "Nevermind. Let's go."

The first block of walking was awkward. Neither of them dared to talk, and so left and an uncomfortable tension in the air. But halfway through the second block, Keith slowed down.

"What's that?"

Lance turned his head in the direction Keith was questioning about. "Oh! That's just an abandoned space. Construction took down a house then forgot about it."

"They should make it a park or something."

Lance's eyebrows rose. Huh. That's... a coincidence. He slowly nodded and smiled. "That's what I was thinking. It's only like, an acre or so, but it'd be great to have some flowers and benches or something. There's probably not enough room for a dog park, but people could walk their dogs around if the local park's too far." Lance gasped and clasped his hands. "I can see this coming to life before my eyes, Keith."

Laughter bubbled out of Keith and he covered his mouth with a fist. "Don't forget the miniature koi pond."

Lance blinked. Freaky coincidence. He ducked his head and nodded in mock seriousness. "Right on, mullet," he breathed. "We should be the designing crew of this town by now."

Keith laughed.

After that, Lance sought out to point out more landmarks and weird places ("Did you know that used to be a Jurassic themed stripper club?"), and Keith, in turn, asked about the town and other important factors ("So what's the best pizza place here?").

By the third block, the two were conversing as if they've haven't been yelling at each other since day one.

"— And this is it." Lance stopped talking about how he saved Sofia from a "vicious" chihuahua and opened the cafe door.

Keith looked around, his hands shoved in his pockets and expression schooled into mild interest. Lance shifted from foot to foot. "How do you like it? I honestly think it's the only coffee place worth going to around here, but, you know."

Balmera Café was a moderately small place, with dim lighting and Himalayan salt lamps hooked onto any smooth surface. Low alternative filtered through speakers and baristas bustled behind a large dark oak counter, while customers chattered quietly. 

Keith hummed. "Yeah, I kinda like it."

"Awesome." Lance led Keith to a table in the corner of the cafe, speaking as they made their way over. "My friend and his girlfriend aren't on their shifts right now, but the others around here are able to get my order right too, I guess."

Keith chuckled lowly and pulled out both of their seats. "I'm guessing your friend has a way with coffee, then."

Wow, that laugh was kinda hot— "Yeah, yeah," Lance nodded his head vigorously, inwardly slapping himself. Get it together, McClain! "Actually, Hunk's great with all types of food. His girlfriend's pretty up there too— Shay's pastries rival way too close for me to choose who's better at it."

Keith hummed noncommittally again and Lance cleared his throat. "Well, I'm going to get some coffee. What do you want?"

"Black's fine."

Should've known. Lance shot a breathy "cool, cool", then made over to order the drinks. He came back a few minutes later with the two drinks and a handful of change. Keith muttered a thanks before grabbing his black heathen coffee.

"So, black huh?"

Keith furrowed an eyebrow. "Black coffee is fine the way it is. You shouldn't change the taste of perfection."

Lance giggled, and he sat in his seat. "I prefer sweet stuff more I guess." He took a sip from his chai tea latte. He nursed the cup between his hands.

Keith smiled tentatively. "My brother feels the same way. Always putting two packets of sweeteners in his coffee no matter what."

Lance tried not to perk up too much at the mention of Mr. Shirogane, but he probably didn't hide it well.

Keith continued. "Actually, I'd think he'd be on your idea of that small park, Lance."

Lance blinked. "O-oh. Like with the koi fish and flowers and stuff?"

Keith nodded and rested his head on a hand. "And the dog walker and the benches, yeah."

Lance almost couldn't keep down his giddy smile. It was silly. Just... a park idea he'd had in mind since he was little. An idea gone wild. And now he knew other people liked the thought of it too. It was small and stupid, but somehow, Lance couldn't help but grin and duck his head. "That's sweet."

"You seem like a dog person," Keith blurted out. He quickly flushed and added on hastily. "You talked so much about dogs and their owners, I thought you had a dog yourself."

Lance laughed lightly "I'm not necessarily a dog person. Cats are pretty adorable too." He paused for a second. "There's actually a stray cat that hangs out around my apartment and particularly likes the fire escape staircase. Sofia instantly fell in love with her, so I guess I have a pet cat every few days." He gasps and started digging through his pockets. "I think I have a picture of her!"

Lance scrolled quickly through his phone and pulled up a slightly blurry picture or the stray cat sitting on the windowsill, and Sofia thrusting a little cat biscuit in its face. Lance smiled at the picture and showed it to Keith. Keith chuckled and looked at the photo with a soft expression.

"Your cat's beautiful."

Lance grinned. "Yeah, Blue's pretty great."

Keith handed back Lance's phone with a small smile that made Lance's heart flutter (a fact which he would later strongly deny to Allura's teasing). "Your daughter's pretty cute too."

At the mention of Sofia, Lance's heart melted automatically. "She's even better." The only girl Lance would give up his whole world to, without hesitation. Minus his mamá, of course.

Keith cleared his throat. "But uh, if you don't mind me saying, you look pretty young for a kid."

Lance steeled his expression. He's heard this phrase before, usually from daycare workers, or strangers off the street, or old high school friends. Most people didn't mean much from it, but Lance was never too sure. Lance plastered on a smile and stirred his coffee, "Yeah, I'm twenty-four. Crazy ex-girlfriends, you know how it is," he choked out. "Not— not that I would exchange my girl for anything in the world. Her mother's just... distant."

Keith hummed. "Cool. I'm turning twenty-six this October." And that was that. Lance ducked his head, and hid his smile, and changed the subject.

"Keith, you told me that you came here because your brother dragged you along?"

The other man nodded affirmatively.

"So, where were you living before?"

"Some small apartment in Chicago. It wasn't bad." Keith took a sip from his coffee, eyes flickering up to Lance. "Used to work as an engineer, and plan on doing the same here."

"Oh!" Lance's eyebrows rose up. He leaned across the table and interest flickered in his eyes. "I thought you'd do something a little different than that."

Keith raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

Lance laughed lightly. "Dude, your brother is freaking Takashi Shirogane, co-owner of Voltron Industries. If I were you I would totally try to at least intern." Lance didn't notice the way Keith's eyes narrowed or the way his walls were slowly rising up. "Heck, if you asked, you'd probably get set up to be like, assistant manager or—"

Keith's drink slammed down onto the cafe table and Lance faltered. Keith's face held a burning glare aimed at the table. He stood up from the table with a speech from the chair and walked out of the shop without a word.

Lance stared in stunned silence. There he sat in Balmera Cafe Shop, with a chai latte and a cold black coffee, searching for what he did wrong.

***

"Huh."

Lance just relayed all the information to Allura, the man still halfway off his chair. He looked at his coffee miserably.

Allura studied Lance. "Huh."

Lance groan and covered his face with a hand. "Ugh, now that I'm thinking about it, maybe I was the jerk. I need to apologize to him right now. Ugh, and I don't even have his phone number—"

"Lance." Allura's voice cut through Lance's grumbling. "Now that I clearly see that you ended off a bit rocky—" Lance groaned again, and Allura rolled her eyes "— but the two of you went along quite well otherwise." Her comforting smile turned into something more devious. "Why if I wasn't more aware, I would think you two would make a lovely couple—" 

Lance threw his arms out frantically. "Nope! _Not_ going there, Allura." _I'm still in love with you_. "Keith and I are rivals, and I don't care if we talked about park designing, or cats or whatever. He still took my parking spot!"

Allura snorted. "Yeah, you go Lance." She shook her head and wondered how long it'll take them to fall in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I live off of kudos and comments!! Anything is appreciated and I love you all! \\(๑˃ヮ˂๑)/ ♡♡


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance talk it out. Also, Hunk!

Keith hadn't seen Lance around since the other man showed him around town, and he couldn't say that he was complaining. The loud Cuban was put at the back of his brain, humming the background, along with the sounds of clanking wrenches and hissing engines. Keith worked at tightening screws on the bottom of some car. He silently mouthed the words of the pop song playing from the garage's tinny radio.

Keith didn’t understand why Lance would assume his job was similar Shiro’s. Well, he kind of did understand—many of his friends in Chicago asked him the same question. Even Shiro would check in time to time to make sure Keith didn’t want his job offer. But business just never was his thing—but he loved engineering, and lived off from it well enough.

Keith finished off one screw and rolled further beneath the car to reach another once. He shifted to get more comfortable, nodding to the song.

"Cookies?"

Keith yelped and banged his head on the car. He heard a loud clatter, then a cascade of worried noises from the other person. Keith waved his hand weakly. He kicked out his legs and rolled out the underside of the car, clutching his temple softly.

A big Samoan man ran up to him, concern written all over his face. "Oh, geez, geez, that was not supposed to happen, I'm so so sorry—" He firmly took Keith's face into his hands, seemingly not noticing the oil grease on his fingers. He turned Keith's head back and forth, tutting. "That's probably gonna bruise or something, oh mother of Mary— I'm gonna get some band-aids or ice, maybe some lemonade, or more ice, or—"

Keith held a hand up and the man stopped rambling, face creased with worry. "It's fine, I can't even feel it anymore." He said it with a little chuckle, and the other man relaxed slightly.

"I'm Hunk." The guy all but threw his hand into Keith's chest. "Sorry about the greasy hands by the way. I made cookies, but then a rookie needed some help with a bike chain, and here we are. The cookies are still warm, too."

Keith's gaze flickered over to the platter on the car's hood. "They look delicious." Hunk? That sounds familiar... Keith shook Hunk's hand despite the grease, then picked up a cookie with his clean hand. At the first bite, Keith's eyes widened. "Oh, my god." He shoved the entire cookie in his mouth. Keith picked up another cookie from the plate. "Hunk, you're a baking genius."

Hunk made a sound like _psh_ and flapped his hand. "Aw, shucks, it's nothing. I felt really bad for not introducing myself when you arrived. You've been here for, what, two weeks? I feel bad."

Keith shook his head. His cheeks were stuffed with cookies, and usual embarrassment thrown out the window. "Noh, noh, dun wor'bo' i'—" He swallowed. "Don't worry about it, I bet you were super busy. I've seen you around too. You're always working at something."

Hunk shrugged and gave an abashed smile. "To-may-to to-mah-to. Hey, I'll catch you on our lunch break, and we can get to know each other more. Cool?"

"Totally cool."

"Awesome!" Hunk fist pumped the air. "Keep the cookies, I'll get the plate later." 

Keith had a feeling that he would like this guy.

***

"— And that's how I ended up with a pack of left socks, two cats, and a new girlfriend." 

"Wow." Keith laughed. It's been a few days since Hunk introduced himself. since then, Keith and Hunk had made it a tradition to meet up at lunch and talk— usually meant Hunk was talking and Keith listened happily. Today was going a little differently though— Hunk's childhood friend was going to visit the garage halfway through the break. Keith didn't mind, and Hunk was ecstatic to have two of his friends meet, so win-win, right?

Keith took a bite of his sandwich. "How long ago was this?" 

"Three years ago." Hunk grinned proudly. "Lost the socks, but everything else is still intact." He sighed happily. "I love my girlfriend so much."

Keith smiled softly. "You sound cute together."

"Yeah, yeah..." Hunk grinned. "Oh!" He suddenly turned around. Hunk dug out his phone from his bag and turned it on, and passed it over to Keith. The home screen was a young woman with a messy bob cut and thick hoop earrings in a sunflower-patterned apron, bending to put some pasties in an oven. She was throwing a wide smile at the camera, eyes squinting and dimples showing. Hunk clasped his hands as Keith studied the home screen. "She's so great... I swear, I'm gonna marry that girl someday."

Keith's heart panged at the amount of love Hunk was showing. "Hundred percent. If she's just as crazy about you as you are about her, I would think you would be ready for kids or something."

Hunk blushed and flapped his hand. "Psh, it— whatever, I— I've got the ring and everything." He leaned in closer. "I'm gonna take her to Central Park— we had our first date there— and take her to one of the gazebos near the swan lake where all the couples get the rowboats. I was thinking about a little redecorating with her favorite flowers, maybe a canoe with flowers too. I— I dunno, I might be a bit much—"

"Hunk." Keith stopped his friend with a hand on his shoulder. He looked at Hunk straight in the eyes. "I don't know your girlfriend personally, but honestly, it sounds perfect. If you ever need anything, call me up and I'll be happy to help."

Hunk sniffed and cracked a smile. He wiped at a tear. "Aw, Keith, you big softie. Thanks, I just— Shay deserves the world."

Keith froze. Shay deserves the world. Shay deserves the world. Shay. Another sentence said weeks ago rang in his head. _Hunk's great with all types of food. His girlfriend's pretty up there too— Shay's pastries rival way too close for me to choose who's better at it_. Oh no.

"— Keith? Keith?" Keith was shaken from his stupor. Hunk was smiling at him confusedly. "Keith, you can let go of my shoulder now."

"Ah." Keith quickly withdrew his hand and hid it under the table. "Sorry." Inside, Keith was screaming. Just his luck that his new friend was also best friends with Lance. Just his luck that he and the Cuban ended on bad terms. And just his luck Hunk, the human embodiment of purity, wanted the two of them to become friends.

"No problem! But!" Hunk waved around his phone in his hand. A more excited grin took over his face. "My oldest and sweetest best friend is at the door, and I really want him to meet you, my newest and coolest best friend."

Oh. Keith blinked and processed Hunk's words. He was a best friend? Well then. Keith swallowed any half-hearted excuse he could've choked. out Instead, he answered with a weak smile and tense shoulders. "Cool. Let's go and meet him."

***

Lance and Keith stared at each other blankly as Hunk looked between them with a proud smile. 

"Lance." Keith crossed his arms.

Lance wrinkled his nose. "Keith."

"Oh, my god, you guys, I love you both so much!" Hunk burst out and threw an arm around the boys. "Ooh, man, I knew you guys would love each other."

Keith and Lance raised their eyebrows simultaneously. But both quickly nodded. 

"Uh huh, yep, love that dude." 

"He's so great, thank you so much Hunk."

Hunk grinned. "Aw, I knew you two would get along well. Hey, sometime we should—"

"Okay! Hunk!" Lance interrupted Hunk and plastered a wide smile on his face. "Why don't you just—" He started shoving Hunk away from Keith. "Go fix a truck or— I don't know, bake some cookies, I love those, just— Keith and I need to talk."

"Wh—" Lance grabbed Keith's hand and ignored Hunk's cheerful "oh, okay!" Keith and Lance ran— or rather, Lance ran and Keith stumbled along. Lance ran to the front of the garage and threw the doors open. He stopped and turned to face Keith.

Keith ripped his wrist out from Lance's grip. "What are you—"

"You didn't tell me you knew Hunk!"

Wait. "What?"

"You didn't tell me you knew Hunk!" Lance repeated. He turned away and gripped his hair. He groaned. "Geez, I could've apologized so much sooner!"

Keith almost heard a record scratch. "...Huh?"

Lance rolled his eyes. "Well, you obviously hated me talking about how freaking rich your brother is, and I don't have your number or anything, so I couldn't tell you that I didn't actually care if your job was all business-like or not, if that's what bothered you." Lance huffed and crossed his arms. "Jackass."

Oh. That was... unexpected. Keith cleared his throat pitifully. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I accept your apology."

Lance scowled. "It's not an apology. I'm mad at you."

"Whatever you say. I'm just not intereted in business. Besides, it's not entirely your fault. I blew up at you, which was totally uncalled for. You're allowed to call me a jackass."

Lance huffed again, this time a hint of a smile on this face. 

"Guess we should go find Hunk now."

Lance chuckled. "Oh yeah, totally. I feel super bad for cutting him off." Keith led Lance back into the engineering shop. They passed the lobby and weaved through broken motors and engines. Lance spotted Hunk talking to a customer and ran through the shop. Keith tripped over to follow him.

"My lovely, beautiful Hunk, my moon and my stars, the love of my life, thank you for waiting so long, you're amazing!" Lance smacked a sloppy kiss on Hunk's cheek. Hunk sent an apologetic glance to the amused customer, then laughed lightly at Lance's dramatics.

"Aw, Lance its no problem really." Hunk grinned. "I'm just super glad you guys get along so well!"

Lance and Keith exchanged a glance and shared a small smile. "Yeah," Keith said, "We get along pretty well."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm noticing that my earlier chapter tend to move quite fast in scenes, I wasn't aware! :( But I do think Lance and Keith would get along quite well, once all misunderstanding were out of the way.  
> \----  
> I live off of kudos and comments!! Anything is appreciated and I love you all! \\(๑˃ヮ˂๑)/ ♡♡


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura and Lance talk some things out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this update had a delay, I fell asleep when editing it,, (lll-ω-)

Lance's day wasn't going so well. 

Well, generally, everything was fine. It was just that Sofia caught the flu from her friend Aaron, then passed it onto Lance, who decided he couldn't afford to take a sick day, and therefore almost passed out on the way back to the daycare. God, sometimes Lance wished someone else would do the job role, and he could just be the simple stay at home dad. Alas, he was stuck doing both.

Lance washed the plates sluggishly, two cough drops in his mouth and tissues shoved up his nose. After the plates, he'd clean the counter. Then he'd check if Sofia was actually sleeping. Then... his eyes flicked over the bathroom. Maybe he'll have time for a relaxing bubble bath and a clay mask. Maybe. Lance finished off another plate and placed it on the drying rack. He paused when he heard a familiar buzz.

Lance peeled off the lavender gloves to reach for his phone. There were several messages from Hunk.

_Hunk: (8:31) Hey Lance! Did you hear that Pidge's brother is gonna be back in town!?_

_Hunk: (8:32) I'm thinking of holding a little dinner party in celebration! :-D_

_Hunk: (8:32) Bring Sofia too! <3 This is gonna be so much fun! :-) <3 _

Lance typed out a quick response.

_Lance: Yea my bro! Can't wait :)_

Immediately, the phone began to ring. Lance groaned in annoyance. He really wanted that bubble bath. Lance answered the phone. "Yeah buddy?"

"You're sick." Damn, talk about cutting to the chase. Lance tucked the phone between his ear and his shoulder.

"How did you know?"

"You didn't respond with the usual number of emojis." A pause. "Also, you sound really congested."

Lance huffed a laugh and pulled a lavender glove back on.

"How's Sofia?"

"Hyper as always. Well, she caught the flu from one of her friends, so not as hyper. But the doctor says she'll be fine by Thursday." Lance finished cleaning the last of the plates. He started searching for the disinfectant wipes. "How's Shay?"

"Radiant as ever." Hunk's voice crackled through the phone. "Lance, I really, really want to pop the question. The Central Park idea is definitely my main choice, but now I'm thinking if I need a backup plan, y'know? So I was thinking..." Lance slowly tuned out his friend, eyes drooping. Why was he so sleepy all of the sudden? He wiped the counter but couldn't remember if he'd— 

Thump. "Aw, fuck." He dropped the phone.

"Lance?" Lance picked up the phone. "Lance, you should get some rest, you seem really sick."

Lance slumped across the counter. "Aw, hell nah, I needa... check up on Sofia and like... a bubble bath... man..." Lance yawned.

A chuckle crackled through the phone. "Alright bro, just don't fall asleep in the tub." 

"You got it."

  
  


Lance fell asleep in the tub.

***

In the morning, Lance didn't wake up to the sound of an alarm. He woke up to a deep ache in his shoulders and a horribly tight face. He yawned. Gray flakes cracked off his face and fell into his mouth. Lance cursed and hacked out a lung. He slept with his face mask on. Lance groaned and tumbled out of the now cold water. He slipped on a towel then quickly washed his face. He came out of the bathroom, stretching and feeling a bit more refreshed. Then he took a quick glance at the clock and stumbled. Lance rushed to his room and threw on some clothes. 

"Sofia!" He bellowed and wriggled into some jeans. "Please wake up!"

Lance ran into Sofia's room and quickly pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I am so sorry, but we gotta hurry." Sofia whined but wrestled off her blankets. Lance ran off to quickly make some sandwiches and a quick "I love you Sofia! Love Papi" post-it. He threw the two and a water bottle into Sofia's lunchbox. Lance spun around to see Sofia, grabbed her hand and the lunchbox, and rushed to the car.

The next ten minutes were a blur, but Lance found himself kissing Sofia's forehead and saying bye, then sitting in his blue Fiat, alone in the parking lot. 

Lance let out a full-blown sigh and rubbed his eyes with his palms. He rested his elbows on his knees. He knew he couldn't just sit here forever, but a few minutes were okay, right? Lance glanced at the little digital clock in his car tiredly. He had just under half an hour until his work shift started.

Lance stretched, then got out of the car. The door shut with a thump, and he started to stroll out of the lot. 

Lance wandered past Altea Daycare. He slowed down and glanced across the street to look at the empty lot like he did every day. He continued walking.

Lance ended up in front of Balmera Cafe. He pushed the door open gently, chimes jingling at the motion. Lance walked up to the line to the barista counter.

"Lance?"

Lance perked up at the familiar posh accent. He turned around and smiled. "Hey, Allura!"

Allura smiled back. She was wearing her silver hair in two braids today, both impeccable and flipped to her front to lay on her shoulders. "Lance, I didn't expect to see you here."

Lance laughed in light shock. "Didn't expect to see you either." The line moved, and Lance stepped closer to the counter. "I thought you were working at the daycare?"

Allura laughed nervously. "Ah, no, I uh," she twirled one of her braids guiltily. "I took a fake sick day." Lance laughed and nodded, he understood. The line moved again, and Allura stepped closer. "What about you?"

Lance laughed and scratched the back of his neck. "Well, my job shift actually starts in uh," he quickly checked his phone, "About twenty-five minutes, I just stopped by for a coffee."

Allura nodded. The line moved forward again, and the two were at the counter. "What's your order?" Allura asked Lance. Lance told her, and she rattled off the two coffee orders at the barista girl behind the counter.

The barista nodded and punched in their orders. "That'd be 10.75."

Allura nodded and started to reach for her purse when Lance held out a hand. "I'll pay."

Allura looked startled. "Oh, Lance, that really not—"

No, I insist." Lance brandished his credit clash and flashed a smile.

Allura huffed and smiled. "Alright, Lance."

Lance felt and victory course through his body and tried to ignore the _"that was two whole boxes of animal crackers, Lance"_ as he watched the barista swipe his card.

"Name?" The barista droned.

"Lance." Lance smiled at Allura and winked. 

Allura smiled slightly back. "Let's find some seats."

The two sat down at a table, and Lance was vaguely aware that this was the table he and Keith sat in the first time they had an actual conservation. He quickly waved away the thought.

Lance stared at the beautiful girl sitting across from him. Allura was fiddling with one of her braids, running her fingers through the unbraided ends and twisting stray strands. "Allura?" He blurted.

Allura looked up from her hair. "Yes, Lance?"

"H-How much do you like— me?"

Allura blinked, looking mildly confused. "Quite a bit, I'm sure. Why?" Allura suddenly looked concerned. She leaned across the table conspiratorially. "Is this a self-confidence thing? Because I can assure you that many people enjoy your presence—"

"No! No," Lance waved his hands around. "I just," Lance flushed but barrelled on. Now or never, right? "I was thinking we should try out going on a date, sometime? We could go to the new aquarium exhibit that just opened, or maybe an ice cream place— I think it's called Narti's— but honestly, any place for a date is... fine..." Lance trailed off when he noticed Allura's expression. "Allura?"

Allura stared at Lance, shock and— was that pity?— painting her features. "Lance—" She started. "I didn't... know you felt this way."

"I flirted with you."

Allura furrowed her brow almost guilty. "I thought that was a friendly teasing think you did."

"Well, yeah, I do, but—" Lance clamped his mouth shut, bile forming at his throat. He felt silly. He was acting like a teenager, pursuing a girl too out of his league. What was he thinking? He shrunk into his seat. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Allura's pose straightened. "Oh— oh, none of that, Lance." She reprimanded softly yet firmly. She grabbed one of Lance's hands. "Lance, you are one of my dearest friends, and I think you are absolutely sublime. Don't think that just because I don't like you romantically, that your feelings are invalid. You got me?"

"No, no, yeah you're right." Lance took a shaky breath. "I... yeah, I'm upset but... it's okay." He rubbed the back of his ear and smiled at Allura softly. "I'll be fine." 

All the tension in her face seemed to wash away. Allura shot up and ran around the table to pull Lance into a hug.

"Oh Lance," she breathed. "Thank goodness. I don't think I could bear to lose you."

Lance huffed a weak chuckle. "You can't get rid of me that easily," he teased. "I think I can get over you." And it was supposed to be a lie, but as soon as the words left his lips, he knew them to be true. Lance gripped Allura tighter.

"Lance!" The barista yelled.

The two friends pull apart with a laugh. Allura smiled. "And I'll get the coffee."

***

"So it didn't work out, huh?"

Hunk's voice crackled through the phone Lance held by his ear. Lance examined his fingernails, sprawled across the couch. "Nah. But it's all cool, I guess. I mean, yeah. I'm upset, but I think deep down I knew she wasn't for me."

"Well I, for one, am glad you tried. You need to reach out more, go on some dates." Hunk paused. "I'm certain you can find people better than who she was," he ended gently. Lance knew he wasn't talking about Allura.

"Thanks Hunk," Lance whispered. "I'll try."

Hunk hummed affectionately. "Goodnight, Lance."

"Good night, Hunk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thoroughly believe that Lance and Allura would still be bestest of friends after a rejection, breakup, of whatever so <3  
> \----  
> I live off of kudos and comments!! Anything is appreciated and I love you all! \\(๑˃ヮ˂๑)/ ♡♡


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk's dinner party is here, Keith and Sofia officially meet, and Shiro and Adam are introduced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this chapter is cute!! Also, Keith and Sofia finally interact, and they're so precious,, ୧(๑❛ั⌔❛ั๑)୨

Lance and Sofia were well on their way to Uncle Hunk's place. Sofia was straining across her seatbelt to count the number of trees she was, and Lance checked on her every red light.

"Thirty-eight, thirty-nine, uhh..." Sofia scrunched up her nose. "Uhmm..."

"We're here!" Lance pulled over. The Fiat rattled to a stop and Lance unbuckled his seatbelt. "And it's forty, sweetheart."

Sofia's mouth formed a small 'o' and she nodded sagely. "Ohhh." Lance came around the car and helped Sofia out the car. Once her feet touched the ground the girl scampered to the front door. Lance hustled over quickly with an amused grin.

"Want to knock, Sofia?" 

Sofia nodded enthusiastically. She gave the door two taps. "Knock knock!" Lance discreetly rung the doorbell. Just in case.

There was a bustling and shouting at on the inside of the house. The door flung open, and Shay was behind the door with a wide smile. "Lance!" she exclaimed. The woman pulled him into a hug, and he was sure at least six of his bones cracked. 

Lance grinned into the woman's flannel. "Nice to see you, Shay." 

"Nice to see you too!" Then Shay looked down and gave an exaggerated gasp. "And could it be? Is that... Stella? Sabrina? Sadie? Who could it be?"

Sofia squealed and stomped her feet. "It's Sofia!"

"Sofia Maria!" Shay scooped the girl up into a bear hug, albeit gentler than the one she gave Lance. "Come in, come in— there's food inside."

They were ushered into the warm house and were quickly plopped down into some seats. People that Lance did and didn't know bustled around them.

"Hunk, your friends are here!" Shay called out.

There was another call from the kitchen. "Which ones?" A familiar head popped up from behind the kitchen counter. He was holding a tray of cookies, mitts around his hands. "Oh, Sofia and Lance!" Hunk grinned. "How are ya guys?"

Sofia squealed and jumped off the chair. She ran behind the counter and hugged Hunk's leg. Hunk laughed. He set down the tray and took off the mitts.

"Heyy, it's my favorite girl!" Hunk hefted Sofia onto his hip.

"Uncle Hunk! What are you making?"

"Well, I just baked some cookies. Hey— here's an idea— what if we did the next batch together?" He eyes flicked to Lance and he chuckled. "If your Papi lets us," he stage-whispered. Sofia giggled.

Lance smiled fondly and gave Hunk the go-ahead signal. Hunk whooped loudly and Sofia cheered and clapped her hands. Hunk turned the girl towards the batch of ingredients. "Alright, so the first step..." Lance tuned them out, knowing Sofia was safe with his friend. Might as well talk to some people. He hopped off the stool and snatched a cookie.

Lance strolled into the living room. His eyes flickered from person to person. Let's see... there was Rax, Shay's older brother, admiring a painting on the wall. Lance's gaze drifted. He didn't know Rax well, and he might just get a teensy bit antsy every time the man crossed his bulging biceps. Oh! Plaxum— was already talking to Romelle, and he didn't want to be rude by butting in. Damn. Lance bit into his cookie. Olia and her girlfriend, Pidge and Beezer, Matt and— Lance's gaze zeroed in on a person, and his eyes lit up. Allura y'Kaebonochi was sitting quietly on a chair, daintily sipping a glass of wine.

Lance grinned. He didn't know she was gonna be here. He did need to ask her about Sofia’s behavior in school anyways. Lance quickly ran his hair through his fingers. He started walking. 

"Alright, McClain. Just gotta get over there, say hello, and— Woah!" A body slammed into his and something wet was seeping into his pullover.

The offender stumbled back. "Shit man, so sorry," the man stuttered.

Lance blinked down at his shirt. He frowned. "Yeah, dude this kinda sucks— wait!" Lance glanced up and gaped. "Keith?"

Keith laughed nervously. "Hey...Lance." His voice lifted upward in nervousness. "Sorry about the sweater."

"No, no no no no no no." Lance held up a hand. "Don't worry about it, it's just a pullover." He pulled the sweater off over his head. The graphic tee underneath was only slightly damp. Lance beamed and gestured proudly. "See? No harm done. Man, I didn't know you were gonna be here. I mean, now that I think about it, it makes total sense, your Hunk's coworker— and I think some of the people here don't even know Hunk or Shay, which is ridiculous— and I'm... probably annoying you right now, so I'm gonna go now, bye!" Lance pivoted stiffly and embarrassed, but Keith quickly caught his arm. 

"You're not annoying me."

Lance blinked. "Ah. Well," he cracked a smile. "Cool."

Keith gave a hint of a smile back. He retracted his arm to hold his forearms. "So, how's your daughter doing?"

Lance brightened at the change of subject. "Sofia? She's great! She's actually baking some cookies with Hunk in the kitchen. I should actually go check up on them right now. You should come with me!" Lance threw his sweater on his shoulder and grabbed Keith's wrist.

***

The two entered the kitchen where Hunk and Sofia were. Sofia was shaking out a concerning amount of chocolate chips on the bowl of cookie dough. Hunk look up and grinned in greeting.

Lance walked over to Sofia. "Hey, cariño, what're you making?"

Sofia didn't look over her shoulder. "Chocolate chip cookies." Keith almost giggled at her determined tone.

Lance nodded with as much seriousness he could muster. "Can Papi and his new friend help?"

Sofia paused. She glanced up and spotted Keith, and gasped. "The nice man!" She dropped the bag of chocolate chips and hopped off the stool she was standing on. Lance grabbed her before she could grab Keith's hand— "Your hands are dirty with flour, _tonta_ "— but she seemed unfazed. Sofia opened her mouth to say something, then suddenly froze. She flushed, then ran to hide behind her father's leg. "Whoops," she whispered.

Lance laughed and ruffled Sofia's hair. He shot Keith an amused glance. He leaned into Keith's ear. "She gets shy sometimes," he murmured. "But!" Lance raised his voice, and Sofia looked up. "That just means she cares, right Sofia?" Sofia clung tighter to his leg. "Do you want to continue making cookies?" 

Sofia paused, then shook her head. "You wanna play with Lance's new friend?" Sofia nodded. "Okay c'mon, let's wash your hands, and then maybe you can play with Keith."

"Keith." Sofia rolled out his name slowly and squinted at him. She smiled, and the shyness spell seemed to wear off. "Okay!" Lance moved her stool to the sink and she started up the water.

Lance stepped closer to Keith. "I figured you could handle Sofia for a couple minutes. She wanted to talk to you since we met at the daycare. She's actually pretty mellow when it comes to activities, it's all drawing and Legos and 'play house'. You don't mind, right?"

Keith blinked. "Uh, no, it's no problem."

Lance grinned. "You're so sweet. Oh, and you know how to draw, right?"

"I— uh—"

Lance shot him a smirk, then moved to Sofia. "Did you get all the cookie dough off? Let me see..." The man fussed over his kid, and Keith fiddled with the end of his sleeve. Hunk had left the kitchen some time ago during their exchange, so Keith was left standing awkwardly, waiting for Lance to finish.

And it wasn't like Keith didn't want to play along with Sofia, don't get him wrong. She was such an adorable kid (with a cute dad, but that's beside the point, Keith!)— he was just, not the best person to play house, or legos, or draw with. He didn't exactly scream 'kid-friendly', what with all the leather jackets and motorcycles and general awkwardness, and don't forget his privileged wealthiness! But Sofia was already dragging him to the dining room table and Lance was patting his shoulder and sitting down a few seats away and so now, he had a kid on his hands.

"Do you know how to draw?" Sofia demanded. Keith was struck by how similar she and Lance were.

"I— yeah, I guess."

"Good." She slid off the chair. "Wait here." She pattered off. A minute later, she came back with an armful of art supplies. Keith smiled involuntarily. He reached out to grab some pens and markers to lighten her load. Sofia threw the rest on the table. Sofia climbed back onto her chair. She handed Keith a piece of paper. "We're going to draw." Then she picked up a marker and started scribbling on her own sheet.

Keith looked down at his own blank paper. Should he just... draw? He never really interacted with a kid before for this long, so he wouldn't know what would make them the happiest. Also, what the hell should he draw? He glanced over at Sofia. She was bent over her drawing, nose so close to the paper they were almost touching. He huffed a chuckle, then picked up a pen.

Keith started to sketch out the rundown buildings in Chinatown. He drew a rough sketch of the crooked apartments and the too many fire escapes, and the cobblestone road and the subway running right overhead. He passed by the scene frequently enough for it to be well ingrained in his head. Soon enough, Keith was invested in his drawing as much as Sofia was to her's. Keith was in the middle of adding a red lantern when the marker next to him stopped scratching.

"Woah." 

Keith glanced at Sofia. She was hanging out of her seat to ogle at Keith's sketch. Keith panicked a bit, and gently pushed her back to the center of her chair. Sofia plopped down, her eyes still fixed on the drawing. "That's really good."

"Oh." Keith laughed nervously and looked back at his little sketch of the urban scene. He suddenly felt self-conscious. "Uh, thanks." He looked at Sofia's paper. It was a colorful mess of happy shapes, some forming recognizable objects. Most not. 

"Is that a, uh, lion?"

Sofia beamed, and Keith internally sighed in relief that he got it right. "Yeah!" She shoved he drawing closer to Keith. "That's the lion, those her babies— the blue birds— and that's their home." Sofia rattled off the elements in of her masterpiece, pointing to them as she went along.

Keith nodded. "Yeah, that's... tight." Aaaand there it was the inevitable sign of 'Hey Keith, this is why you shouldn't be near kids!' God, no, no, no, should I have said that to a five-year-old, what the fuck— He swore he could hear Lance snorting from the end of the table.

Sofia didn't seem to notice or care. "Yeah, pretty tight." Keith almost choked. Sofia looked over, startled, but Keith waved a hand at her to continue. She relaxed, then her gaze flicked over to her dad and back. She leaned towards Keith. "I actually have two pictures," she whispered. Sofia gestured her Keith to lean closer, which he did, albeit awkwardly. She looked back to Lance again— he was laughing and talking with Pidge. Sofia slipped her drawing under the table, then flipped it over. 

It was red, orange, and blue, with little green and white dots all around.

"It's a koi pond," she whispered, and Keith's breath caught. "Papi always talks about a park with trees and benches and a koi pond— Papi says that's a pond with pretty fish in it— and he says that if he gets the money, he might buy the empty space near where Miss Allura works and put it there. Papi said he wanted it since he was my age, plus five. Then he gets all sad and says it'll never work out, but that's okay for him." Sofia looked at Keith earnestly. "Keith, I wanna help him build it."

Keith was struck into silence. So the park idea really was a genuine thought. And one Lance had dreamed of since he was ten. Somehow this made Lance even more endearing than he already was. And Keith was stunned by the pureness of Sofia's face. She really loved her dad and wanted the best for him. Keith slowly gave Sofia a fond smile. "Sofia, I'm sure you and your Papi can do it."

"Thank you." Sofia glowed. "I like to tell this to everybody that I meet. Because it sounds super pretty, and my Papi would like it so much." Sofia scanned Keith for a few seconds, then looked at him and smiled. "Keith, you can help me build it too."

Keith smiled back. "I would like that, Sofia."

***

Lance checked the time from the corner of his phone. 6:00. A little less than an hour to drive him and Sofia home, help prepare Sofia for bed, and then tuck her in with a story. Lance took out his earbuds and tucked his phone in his back pocket. He headed over to where Keith and Sofia were sitting.

"Hey, what'd you guys do when I was gone?"

Sophia grinned and bounced in her seat. "Keith and I drew so many pictures! Look!" Sofia shuffled through the mess of papers and shoved one of them in his face. Lance chuckled and pulled the paper away to look at it. It was a scribbly drawing of a pink Sofia and a red Keith. They were smiling and holding hands in a field of flowers. Lance held back a giggle. God, his daughter was adorable.

"Sofia, this is so beautiful! You're probably a better drawer than I am." Sofia giggled. Lance handed the drawing back. "Keep this safe, and we can hang it up in your room." Sofia nodded, and Lance turned to Keith and smiled teasingly.

"You guys talk about me or anything?"

Keith look conflicted for a minute, which confused Lance, but then quickly shook his hand and laughed. "No, we only talked about interesting things." 

Lance gasped dramatically then laughed for a bit. Lance smiled at Keith. "Hey, thanks for keeping watch of her."

"Oh yeah, I didn't mind. She's great." Keith sounded genuine. "She's... very into it." Lance grinned when he remembered both Sofia and Keith equally invested in their drawings. He took a picture of them, but neither of them had to know, of course.

"So into it." Lance glanced around Keith and spotted the piece of paper the other was working on. "She roped you in too, huh? Lemme see!"

Keith gulped as Lance reached for the paper. "Oh, uh, it's— yeah,— it's not my best—"

Lance ignored Keith's stuttering, and looked at the pen drawing. Slowly, his eyes widened. "Woah." It was a sketch of one of the alleys in Chinatown. Lance traced a hand over the fire escapes, then the street market fish, then the old cobblestone roads. "This is amazing."

Keith flushed.

"This is the Chinatown in lower Manhattan, right?" Keith nodded and Lance grinned. "Huh. ...I like this a lot."

Sofia piped up. "Me too! I also like Keith a lot. And chicken nuggets."

"We can eat chicken nuggets when we get home, cariño. So let's head home quick, alright?"

"Okay!" Sofia gathered up the last of her papers. The art supplies were organized neatly on the table. She grabbed her father's hand. Lance started to walk to the door when she froze. "Wait! Now can Keith come over for a playdate?"

Lance blinked. Well technically, Keith could. Sofia liked him, Lance liked him, and Keith didn't seem to be bothered by either of them too much. And the man wasn't some stranger anymore. Lance looked at Keith uncertainly, who seemed as shocked as him. Then Keith's expression melted into a small smile.

"Only if your Papi lets me."

Yep. Definitely no problem with having him over. "Y-yeah, no problem at all." Sofia cheered. Lance turned to Keith. "Meet us at the end of daycare tomorrow, we'll figure something out." Lance smiled at Keith bashfully, then led Sofia to the door, saying goodbyes on the way out. He made his way to the Fiat, buckled Sofia in her buggy seat, and started up the car. "Papi!" Sofia called over the rumble of the car.

"Yes cariño?"

"Keith is a good friend!"

Lance thought of Keith, and the way he acted so gentle around Sofia, and his smile, and his eyes and— woah. Lance shook his head. "Yeah, cariño. He's a great friend."

***

The elevator dinged for the last floor, and Keith stepped out. He wrestled with his keys for a second before coming in. "Shirooo, I'm hooome!" He yelled as he kicked off his shoes.

The most expensive floor of the most expensive building. He would never get why Shiro insisted on getting a penthouse, but it was admittedly nice. His brother said he couldn't resist the skylight and the minibar. Keith dropped his keys in the bowl on the side table near the door. Ikea brand— you couldn't have it all.

A voice that was decidedly not-Shiro called from the kitchen. "He's taking a shower upstairs!"

Keith padded across the wood-paneled floor to the kitchen. The scent of fried rice wafted towards him and his mouth watered. He plopped down at the dining table. "Hey Adam."

"Hi Keith." Adam turned around and smiled. "The food isn't done yet, but there's stuff in the fridge."

Keith hummed a noncommittal sound. "Not that hungry." Keith leaned into the chair. "Y'know, the weirdest things are happening since we moved."

"Oh really?" Adam asked carefully. He reached for the salt.

Keith idly twirled patterns into the table. "Yeah. When I went to pick up Allura like a month ago, some random dad started yelling at me about his parking spot, but later he offered to give me a tour around town. Apparently, he's like, my co-worker's best friend or something, so we met again at the co-worker's dinner party. He's not a bad dude once you get to know him."

"Nice you got settled in! How old is this guy?"

"Twenty-four." Adam turned around and squinted. Keith knew what was coming so he barrelled on. "I know I said he was a dad, Adam. But he doesn't really act like a fuckboy. Plus his kid's really cute."

Adam made a little "ah" sound. He turned off the stove. "So the dad's cute too then," he teased, and Keith spluttered. Adam laughed.

There was the sound of heavy steps down the stairs, and Adam stopped his teasing. A Japanese man rounded the corner into the kitchen, and Adam's smile widened.

"Hey, what're we teasing Keith about today?" Shiro pressed a kiss to his fiance's temple. 

"Oh, just another crush," Adam smirked. "Oh, and the fried rice is done." He laughed at Shiro's breathy _god,_ _I love you so much_ and Keith rolled his eyes.

"Gross." He walked to the pot of rice the pile some up into a bowl. "And it isn't a crush, just a really nice single father with an adorable five-year-old, geez." 

"So the dad's really cute too then!" Adam gasped— "That's exactly what I said!"— and Keith groaned.

"You're both horrible people," Keith whined. Adam and Shiro laughed. The two joined Keith at the table and they dug into their food. It was blissfully quiet for a few minutes before Shiro spoke up again.

"You should ask him out."

Keith huffed, mouth full of warm rice and carrots and egg. "Whatever."

Shiro smiled and stood up. "I have a meeting soon, but I'll be back here by 8:30, and—"

"— I can always text or call you if there is an emergency, yeah, I know, Shiro." Keith gave him an exasperated smile. "I think I'll be fine."

"Alright." Shiro leaned down to give Adam a quick peck on the lips. "I love you, same rules apply to you too, the dinner was delicious, and I love you, see you soon."

"You repeated the 'I love you's twice," Adam called out dryly.

"I know!" Shiro set down his dishes in the sink with a clatter. "I love you both, stay safe, bye!"

Adam shouted some affections back and Keith mumbled one. Keith stood up. "I'm going to my room. I don't want to hear anything near sexual when Shiro gets back."

Adam started hacking out an embarrassed cough. "We— we are not— we're waiting until marriage!" he finally shouted. Keith set his bowl and spoon in the sink.

"Then I gotta move out before then." Keith left Adam to his spluttering and smirked the way up to his room. Lance was a problem he could deal with later. Right now, this was more fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I live off of kudos and comments!! Anything is appreciated and I love you all! \\(๑˃ヮ˂๑)/ ♡♡


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith, Lance and Sofia plan out a playdate (finally!).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit short considering how many words I threw up last chapter,,,（；^ω^）

Lance leaned across the doorway of Altea Daycare. He was early by a couple of minutes when he arrived for work and resigned himself to playing Flappy Bird. Lance huffed angrily at his screen when the bird bumped into another pipe. He was about to start another game when someone tapped on his shoulder. Lance looked up. Keith was standing in front of him, with a tiny smile.

"Hey Lance."

Lance grinned and pocketed his phone. "Hey man! Wow, didn't know you'd be here."

"Yeah, I'm— Sofia said she wanted a playdate. You were serious about planning it, right?" Keith suddenly seemed uncertain and embarrassed. Lance laughed and pushed Keith playfully.

"Of course I wasn't. You're like, my friend now. I trust you with my kid." Lance checked his watch, not seeing Keith's awe-struck and honored face. "I think we can go in now. Let's get Sofia and talk more."

Lance and Keith walked into Altea. Coran greeted them from the front desk and told them the children would be let out a couple of minutes, so they sat down in the lobby's chairs.

Lance stretched his legs out and groaned. "Ugh, you would not believe the day I had today." Keith hummed and Lance took that as a sign to continue talking. "So I have a side job as a waiter, right? And customers are generally okay, it's a pretty fancy restaurant— but today this twelve-year-old kid and his little gang showed up at the door..." Lance ranted about his day at work, watching Keith face turn from quietly amused to snickering to full blown laughter. Lance stared at Keith's blotchy red cheeks and his shaking shoulders. There was the tiniest fleeting thought of _wow, he's beautiful_.

And then Keith snorted. Lance laughed at Keith's snorts, and Keith shoved his shoulder, sending him back to reality.

Keith slowly straightened, gasping from laughter. "He really," Keith wheezed, "he really just went for it huh?"

"And the fact that he called the bill the receipt," Lance slapped his knee and cackled. "Icing on the cake." Keith snorted again and Lance grinned. He glanced up at the clock. "Oh shoot, Sofia should be coming out right about now." 

As if on cue, Lance could hear a door opening from the hallway, and children shouting over each other.

Lance stood up, Keith following him soon after. A sea of parents had arrived by the time he was recounting about the woman who requesting grass-fed water, and he wanted Sofia to see him easily.

The kids entered in, and there was a rush of commotion, with several frazzled counselors trying to organize the mess.

"Papi!" 

Lance craned his neck and saw Sofia jumping up and down a little to his left. He waved back then turned to Keith. "I see her, let's go!" He absentmindedly grabbed Keith's hand headed over to Sofia.

Sofia grinned up at Lance. "Hi Papi! Today we made finger paintings!" She thrusts up a hardly decipherable mess of a picture. If Lance squinted, he could make out Sofia, himself, and a cat that was probably Blue. It was adorable.

Lance cooed. "I love it cariño! We can hang it up after we go home. But first, do you see anyone you know next to me?"

Sofia looked around confusedly before her gaze came to a stop on Keith. Her face lit up. "Keith!" She ran over and hugged his leg. Keith smiled and waved at her, albeit awkwardly but not unkindly.

"Hey Sofia." 

"Keith, Keith! We need to go on a playdate! Playdates are super fun, I promise! We can play house and draw and—" Sofia babbled happily. Lance put a hand over his mouth, giggling at Keith's helpless and slightly overwhelmed expression. When Keith sent him a glance that screamed, _I love her but please help_ , Lance decided to intervene.

"Sofia!" The girl looked over her shoulder at Lance's call. "I know you want to talk to Keith about your week, but how about we find somewhere to sit first, yeah?" Sofia nodded happily and skipped around the lobby, looking for good seats.

Lance suddenly realized that he and Keith were still holding hands. Lance flushed and pulled his hand back, stuttering quiet excuses. Lance rushed to follow Sofia around, with Keith following soon after. Eventually, Sofia chose two armchairs tilted towards each other in the corner of the lobby. Keith sat down on the faded red chair, and Lance drew Sofia into his lap on the blue one.

"So what place should we go to?"

"Oh! Oh!" Sofia bounced up and down. "The zoo! The one with the peacocks in it, they're really pretty."

Lance nodded encouragingly. "The Bronx Zoo, that's a great idea, Sofia! We could see the peacocks and feed the sheep in the petting zoo!" Lance turned to Keith and smiled. "Keith, where do you want to go?"

Lance saw Keith's breath hitch in surprise at being called out. Lance felt a tinge of guilt for throwing a question at him so unexpectedly, but the man quickly recovered. He stuttered out a sentence, albeit shyly. "Well, I think a dessert place would be nice, afterward." Sofia gasped in delight, and Keith smiled at her. "I don't really know the ones around there though."

Lance grinned. "No problem! That sounds awesome. We can just look around and pick one we like. Sound good?" The last sentence was directed at both Sofia and Keith, who both nodded. Lance looked at the clock and his eyebrows shot up. "Wow. Time flies, man. Me and Sofia gotta dash home for some good garlic knots." Sofia interrupted with an indignant "And the princess movie!", and Lance ruffled her hair. "And our favorite movie, The Princess Bride." Lance stood up, Sofia sliding off his lap and grasping his hand. Keith stood up too.

"Yeah. I probably have somewhere to be too, to be honest."

Lance smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling at the motion.

Oh! Lance straightened a bit. He almost forgot. Lance snapped his fingers and Keith looked back at him curiously. "Give me your phone number so I can give you any extra information! I probably forgot stuff, and," Lance leaned in and lowered his voice, "Sofia can be held still for only so long, am I right?" Lance laughed, and Keith smiled understandingly. The two exchanged numbers quickly. Their fingers brushed when they passed their phones, Lance not thinking about it too much (but still, just enough). "So Saturday, ten o'clock, meet us here for a playdate?"

"Yeah, I can drive us." Lance nodded happily and patted Keith on the arm.

"See you Saturday, Keith." Lance waved and started to turn around. Sofia shouted a resounded "See you!" and skipped alongside him. Keith called out a “see you” of his own, and Lance held a smile on his face as he made his way to the parking lot.

***

Keith raised a hand and waved. "Yeah, see you. Can't wait."

Lance and Sofia exited the daycare, and Keith leaned against the wall. He smiled at the thought of Lance and Sofia's cheerful likeness, then Lance's kindness to Sofia, then Lance's smiles, his wit, his eyes, his— wait. Keith froze. His mind processed his thoughts. Then he groaned and buried his face in his hands. Shiro and Adam were right after all— Keith had a crush on Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna say how grateful I am that this fic is also at 500 hits!! Considering how my past fics have hardly reached 100, it means a lot :,) Also you guys leave such amazing and kind comments!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance, Keith, and Sofia go on their planned playdate, and something not so planned happens as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh I finally reach 500 hits!! Thank you all so much, I was so excited when I saw the number! o(╥﹏╥)o. But seriously, you guys are angels. (See here: you = ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭)

"Adaaam!" Keith shouted from his room. His hands were on his hips and he scowled at his drawer. 

There was a distant groan. A few moments later, Adam poked his head through the doorway. "Goddamn Keith, you're yelling my name like I'm your mom."

"Number one, you are my mom," Keith countered quickly. "Number two, what should I wear?"

Adam froze. Keith shifted uncomfortably at his gaping mouth and stunned expression.

"What?"

"Oh my god."

Keith huffed in annoyance. "What, Adam?"

"You, Keith Kogane, worrying about what he should wear, clothes all over you hilariously empty room, and a good deal of those clothes being clean and formal casual..." Adam squinted and Keith averted his gaze. "Keith, are you going on a date?"

Keith flushed and stammered defensively, and Adam cackled. "It's— it's not a date!" He shouted. "Me, Lance and his kid are gonna hang out at ten."

"Lance... is that the dad you were talking about?" Keith gave an uncertain "yeah?" and Adam grinned. "Awwww, introduce us some time—"

"Nope. No no no no no." Keith shook his head furiously. "Now help me decide what to wear or get out."

Adam laughed and walking over to the dresser. After a few minutes, he picked out a simple red flannel and black jeans and wrestled Keith's hair into a ponytail. Adam stepped back and proudly looked at his disgruntled masterpiece.

Keith touched the high ponytail uncertainly. "I don't think I've worn my hair like this before..." He grumbled, a pout adorning his face.

"No, it looks great," Adam assured Keith and swatted the other's hand away from his hair. "Don't touch it. Now it's almost ten, hurry up!"

Keith cursed and shoot out of the bedroom, ignoring Adam's cheeky, "Have a good time, son!" and ran to the elevator. He stepped onto the elevator heading down and sent Lance a quick text that he was on his way. He reached the lobby and walked down to his car.

Now that he thought about it, offering the drive them there probably wasn't the best idea. Keith already saw Lance freak out about his rich background (it was kinda cute actually, now that he thought about it), and jump to conclusions because of his rich background (not so cute). But the offer was already made, so Keith was stuck with whatever consequence. Keith opened the driver's seat and sat down. He turned on the ignition and started his way to Altea.

***

Lance lounged on a bench outside Altea daycare with Sofia, eyes searching for Keith and occasionally acknowledging Sofia's excited chatter. He was exhausted from running so many errands. (For example: chasing Sofia around to wear her summer dress— _it's hot out!_ — and packing a bag full of kiddie snacks and band-aids and one stuffed animal— _you can never be too prepared_!— and stress over what he should wear— _...Lance just really, really cared about how Keith saw him. He wondered why he felt like that_.) But even with all the stress, Lance still felt pretty good for the playdate. And apparently, Sofia did too.

"Papi!" 

Lance turned to his daughter. "Yes, cariño?"

"Do you think Keith likes ice cream?"

"One hundred percent."

"Good. Because mango and pineapple are my two favorite flavors and I want to know if Keith..." Sofia continued, but Lance's attention was redirected to a shiny black Honda. Hey, that kinda looked like-

The door opened and Keith stepped out. Ah, right. Lance forgot how rich Keith was. Lance quickly stood up.

"O-Oh, hey Keith!" Lance's voice cracked on the first word and he flushed. Thankfully, Keith didn't seem to notice.

"Hey Lance. Hey Sofia."

Sofia ran and hugged Keith's leg. "Hi! I missed you!"

Lance giggled at Keith's stunned expression. He looked over at Keith more closely. He was wearing a buttoned flannel rolled up to his elbows, and black jeans. Keith's hair was pulled up into a ponytail, Lance noticed. And damn, did he look good.

In a platonic way, of course! Lance backpedaled frantically and shook himself back into reality. He saw that Keith was looking at him.

"Should we move?" Keith asked.

"Yeah! Yeah, totally." Keith smiled, and Lance returned it albeit giddily.

Lance turned and opened the backseat door for Sofia with a pretend bow and a "m'lady", earning a giggle from the girl. He was halfway through helping Sofia with her seat buckle when he realized something. Lance turned to Keith, who had gotten into the driver seat again. "Hey, how did you get a booster seat?"

"Oh, I asked Hunk because I knew he'd probably have one, being your friend."

Lance hummed as he recognized the booster seat. "You're not wrong." He clicked down Sofia's seatbelt and jumped into the shotgun.

Keith hit the car in reverse once Lance slammed the door shut and started driving off. It was quiet for a moment before Lance spoke up again. "I, uh, like your hair today."

Keith didn't look away from the road, but Lance saw his small smile. "Thanks."

Lance looked around the inside of the car with thinly veiled awe. Smooth leather seats, polished windows, classy steering wheel... Lance could only dream to have a car like this. "Your car is, ah, pretty sweet, huh?" Lance cringed inwardly at his dorky tone, then double cringed when he remembered Keith getting testy the last time Lance mentioned his rich background. Lance peeked to the left, but instead of seeing Keith with a hardened expression, the man actually looked a bit embarrassed.

"Oh, thanks. I actually kinda forgot about the whole rich thing, so," he laughed awkwardly. "Sorry if it seems too showy or anything—"

"Oh, no no, don't worry about it. I don't mind."

"Ah cool." Keith cleared his throat and Lance smiled awkwardly. He decided to stare out of the impeccably clear windows. At some point, Keith had reached the bridge. Sofia was probably enraptured by the view, which would explain the odd silence. A quick look back affirmed Lance's suspicions. Lance flopped back down into the black leather seat. He rubbed the leather and pursed his lips. Perfect seat. Perfect windows. Perfect car. Perfect life-

"Hey, do you want some music?" A voice broke through Lance's dark thoughts. Keith smiled at Lance for a second before turning his eyes back to the road.

"O-oh yeah, sure." Keith hummed and reached over to flick the radio on, then flick it once, twice, three times to land on a station that played 80’s rock. Keith said something about changing the station if Lance didn't like it, and Lance nodded. Lance slowly relaxed into his seat. In the quiet volume of the radio, the perfect didn't seem to matter as much.

***

Sofia screamed in excitement and Lance's head shot up. He quickly recognized the Bronx Zoo entrance and grinned. "Finally!" he exclaimed.

Lance got out of the seat and with a quick slam of the door, walked over to help Sofia unbuckle her seat. Sofia jumped out, and Lance looked around and smiled. It was honestly a beautiful day to walk around a zoo. Or a park. Or a picnic! Lance wondered for a second if Keith and Sofia would be up for a nice picnic before realizing the two said people were already walked to the gate. Lance hefted his bag full of snacks and jogged to catch up with them.

Lance and Keith quickly paid for the tickets. The girl at the booth smiled at Sofia and the two men more enthusiastically than usual, which confused Lance, but he quickly brushed it off. He could see Sofia getting impatient, so he took her hand and started walking. 

"Oh oh, wait!" Sofia halted, letting Lance come to a stop. She looked back and waited for Keith to be at her side, then grabbed his hand as well. "Okay, let's go!"

Lance would've laughed at Keith's bewildered expression if he wasn't feeling bewildered himself. Sofia had never taken two hands at the same time, not even with him and Hunk. Lance looked back helplessly at the booth lady. She was smiling them proudly and throwing him two thumbs ups. He was even more confused than before, but Lance decided to brush it off. Lance let Sofia lead him and Keith to the exhibits.

But twenty minutes later, Lance knew there was definitely something off.

Vaguely, Lance was aware that Sofia had dragged them to a peacock and was pestering Keith to take pictures of it because it was "sooo pretty!", but he was looking more at the people around them. They sneaked unsneaky glances at the three, did double takes when they walked past, occasionally looked away, but more often than not, gave Lance a supportive smile. Lance returned a few smiles back, but to be honest, he didn't know why these strangers were smiling at them. This continued when Sofia sat between them during the monorail, and when Lance and Keith fussed over Sofia and her messy eating habits at lunch, and when Keith insisted on paying for dippin’ dots.

Lance sighed from his place on the picnic blanket he brought out. The three had decided to settle in a small park nearby, eating dippin’ dots and turkey sandwiches. Keith was lounging next to him, leaning back on his palms. Lance noted that this was the most carefree he'd ever seen Keith.

"What's up?"

Lance's eyes flicked from Sofia chasing away pigeons, to Keith's concerned face then back. Even in the slight movement, Lance could still see the stares of the random passerby.

Lance sighed again. "I don't know, it's just, like—" He huffed frustratedly. "Keith, is it just me, or is everybody staring at us and my kid?"

Keith paused and took a look around. A few people quickly averted their gaze, and Lance scowled. "Yeah, now that you mention it, it's super obvious." Keith peered at Lance. "Hey, if you want to, we can head back."

"Yeah, that'll actually be great—"

Keith grabbed Lance's arm. "Wait." He gestured to a general direction, and Lance's eyes followed. "Someone's approaching us."

Surely enough, a woman in her mid-thirties was walking towards both of them. Fear suddenly gripped Lance, and he quickly gripped Keith's hand into a death grip. He could sense Keith softly squeezing his hand back, but he was too busy searching for Sofia. _Where was she where was she where was she_ — there. Having a staring contest with a squirrel. In the back of Lance's mind, he knew he shouldn't be this scared. The woman had smile wrinkles and was wearing a cute sunhat he would wear and a dress Allura would die for and Sofia was fine— Everything was just fine, so why was his heart beating so fast?

The woman stopped in front of Keith and Lance, and they looked up. The woman looked conflicted for a quick second, as if she was planning on what to say, then she looked them both in the eyes and smiled tentatively. She leaned down slightly.

"Hey, so uh. I just I saw you two young men, and I just wanted to say that I'm super proud of you both. It can be hard being LGBT in the city, but you guys seem to have it all figured out! You're such a cute couple, and I wish the best for you and your daughter."

Lance looked at the woman, who smiled at him kindly. Then it clicked. Lance became suddenly aware of his hand in Keith's. Lance looked around at the strangers, some still looking over. Oh. So that's what it was about. Huh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOAHHH what happens next?!? Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z! (P.S.: I swear, it didn't seem so short when I was writing it,,,,)  
> \-----  
> I live off of kudos and comments!! Anything is appreciated and I love you all! \\(๑˃ヮ˂๑)/ ♡♡


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the playdate helps Lance realize a few things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay right off the top, I know I skipped over the actual action, but I didn't think it'll work in (what I hope is) a tight-knit story. But don't worry, there will be many more fluff and drama moments in further chapters!

"HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM," Lance burst through Hunk's door. There was a yelp and a clatter of a plate.

Hunk gaped at Lance in betrayal. "Lance, I could've dropped my croissants!"

Lance ignored Hunk's lament. He rushed over and smushed Hunk's cheeks between his hands.

“Hunk, somebody thought me and Keith were dating!” Lance cried out. 

Hunk blinked. By the time he processed what Lance said, Lance had whipped away and started pacing.

“—And I was all like ‘whaaat???” and Keith was all like—” Lance poorly imitated Keith’s gruff voice— “‘no, ma’am I’ve never seen this man in my life!’— oh, well, he didn’t actually say that, he said I was just a friend, but it felt like there were some connotations in there, and I don't know but them we ended the playdate super awkwardly and I think Sofia noticed and I’m. _So, embarrassed???_ ” Lance heaved a sigh that caught into a sob. He flopped his head into his waiting palms.

Hunk looked overwhelmed at Lance’s outburst. "That's... tough."

Lance threw his hands up in stress. "Tough! We told her we weren't a couple and she had the audacity to look _disappointed_!"

Hunk bit on his lip, obviously trying to suppress a smile. “ _Really?_ Okay, okay, I know you’re stressed, but isn’t that like a little funny?”

Lance gave Hunk a helpless look.

“Okay, I’m just joking. ...Mostly." Hunk went around the island to sit next to Lance. "So, how do you feel about this?"

Lance furrowed his eyebrows. "Huh?" He thought he was being perfectly clear about what he felt.

Hunk waved around a croissant around lazily. "Y'know, the whole 'the entire city think that you and Keith are a couple, if not married because you have a kid’ deal."

"Oh, uh—" Lance halted, then furrowed his eyebrows because he didn't really know what he was feeling, exactly. He thought he was embarrassed, taken back, maybe even offended, but now that he thought some more, in hindsight, those feelings were probably caused by feeling a whole bunch of confusion. And maybe other things welled up too, like excitement, and fondness and something else bubbling that felt like shyness and happiness rolling in the pit of his stomach. "I don't know," he settled on.

Hunk hummed. Lance realized he must look super stressed, according to Hunk's sympathetic expression.

Hunk put down his half-eaten croissant on the table, then started to his couch. He motioned for Lance to follow him, and they both sat down.

Lance drew his knees up and fiddled with the rough maroon fabric of the couch. He could feel Hunk's contemplative gaze burn through him. Hunk spoke up again. "That's no problem. But you're obviously stressed about this, so I feel like we should talk about this until you come to terms with at least one thing." Lance nodded, and Hunk smiled. "So, how do you feel about Keith?"

Lance halted in his fiddling in confusion. He didn't see the connection but he answered the question anyway. "Well, he's pretty cool, I guess. He looks like an 80s boy band member who's emo phase went on for a bit too long, but he makes it work, I guess. Especially when he smiles. And I think he actually smiles a decent amount of times. He's technically rich, but he's so normal that I completely forget about it as soon as he opens his mouth. Sofia is enraptured in him, and he treats her like I want her to be treated, if not better, at times."

Hunk smiled softly and nodded. "Okay. And how did you feel about Keith hanging out with you and Sofia today?"

"It was really good, to be honest. I had a good time, Sofia definitely had a good time, and Keith looked pretty happy to be there. That playdate was probably the least stressful thing all month." Lance paused. "And I really, really want to do those playdates more often."

Hunk nodded again. "Now, kinda putting that information together, how do you feel about other people thinking that you are a couple?"

Lance took a minute. Absentmindedly, he started scratching the couch's fabric again. "I think," he started slowly. "That the fact that people were staring really threw me off and put me on edge. But to be honest, Keith and I were acting pretty domestic. We were even doing that thing where parents lounge on the picnic blanket and look at their kid fondly, for Pete's sake. But I don't, really mind? 

“Because, I don't know, I don't mind being domestic with Keith, whether it's romantic or not. Keith is kind, and softhearted and funny when he wants to, and good with kids, and he's... definitely not bad looking either. So I guess I don't mind if others think we're a couple. I guess I might even li—" Lance snapped his mouth shut and his eyes widened. Oh. His mouth opened softly in realization. Lance looked over at Hunk, who smiled smugly. Lance gasped in disbelief. That bastard knew. Lance put his hands on his hips.

"Hunk, I might actually have a crush on Keith."

***

"Oh, Flame Princess, I think you're rad..." Sofia was singing along with the TV in the other room. Lance grinned at her adorable off-key voice. He wished he could film her without her noticing (because she was just that cute!), but he didn't want to accidentally burn the noodles he was making. Lance stirred the noodles in the pot again and thought back to his conversation with Hunk.

Immediately after Lance's crushing realization, Hunk squealed and begged him to go after him because "You two would make such a cute couple!! Ack, I gotta text Shay about this!" This seemed to be a lot more enthusiasm when Lance told Hunk about Allura... Lance squinted, then shrugged. Either way, Lance shied away and mumbled a dejected answer. He just didn't feel ready to be in a relationship. Keith probably didn’t even like him back anyways. And because of his previous dating experience, Lance felt too drained to try for romance for a good while. Hunk, being the angel that he was, immediately understood and pulled Lance into a soft hug.

And for now, Lance was content, with himself and with his answer. He drained the water from the noodles and softly hummed with the TV.

Sofia stopped singing, and Lance could hear footsteps nearing the kitchen. Lance guessed that she got tired of the television. He withdrew from the sink.

Sofia appeared in front of him. "Papi, can you help me turned off the TV?"

"Already on it kiddo." Sofia followed him when he clicked off the show with the remote, then followed him back to the kitchen. She watched as he washed the starch off the noodles. She tugged on Lance's sweatpants.

"Papi, yesterday was really fun!"

Lance grinned at Sofia. "I know, right? What was your favorite part?"

"I had a lot of favorite parts! I, I liked the lions in the zoo, I liked the birds in the park, I liked the, uh, the shop with the keychains in it, the stuffed animals were so soft..." Sofia's eyes widened. "Oh! Keith was my favorite part."

Lance raised his eyebrows and quirked a smile as he piled the noodles into bowls. "Oh, really?"

Sofia nodded confidently. "Yeah! Keith told me that lions were pretty cool too, even though he liked hippos more. Then he pointed out which pigeons he thought were the prettiest. And he said that the stuffed animals were pretty fluffy too!"

Lance laughed and leaned down to tease Sofia's cheek. "Heey! I did all that stuff too!"

Sofia gasped. "Oh! Sorry Papi! You're my favorite too!"

Lance snorted and handed Sofia the unbreakable bowl. "Aww, thanks cariño. You're my favorite as well."

The two sat at the dining room table and ate their noodles. Lance dejectedly thought it needed more salt, but Sofia was wolfing it down like it was the best meal she’d ever had. her Lance's attention. "Papi, what was your favorite part?"

Lance smiled down at his fork and shrugged. "I guess my favorite part would be Keith too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not actually sure how I feel about this chapter, so pls tell me what you think of it (´･ε･̥ˋ๑)  
> \----  
> I live off of kudos and comments!! Anything is appreciated and I love you all! \\(๑˃ヮ˂๑)/ ♡♡


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance are once again dumbasses in denial, Shiro talks some sense into Keith, and Lance thinking a lot about some of his past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY so this chapter may seem a bit choppy, but i'll tell you why. I realized one of the chapters was way to short, so I decided to mesh it in with the next one, even through the scenes technically happen on different days. However, the dates aren't super important to the story, so I decided to leave out time stamps as well. Also there's a hell lotta dialogue/monologue. Hope this doesn't ruin the experience! ╥﹏╥ But if you would like timestamps for this chapter, just ask and I will do it!

Lance strolled around Altea Daycare's block. He'd just dropped Sofia off, and his shift was in a good hour. He made a full circle around the block, and his eyes caught on a familiar figure sitting on a bench. Lance perked up and walked faster. "Hey, Keith!"

Keith turned towards Lance's voice, and his whole face lit up. "Lance, hey, what's up."

Lance slowed to a stop. "Nothing much." Now that he'd come to terms with having a (teeny) crush on Keith, Lance started to notice the tiny things about Keith. Like the way he'd tuck back that one strand of hair behind his right ear, or the way his eyes would squint ever so when he listened to someone, as if he was concentrating on their every word... Lance shook himself out of his sappy thoughts, chiding himself.

"Sooo." He rocked on his heels. Wow, was he always this awkward around crushes? "You seem to hang around here often." Immediately after saying that, Lance felt like dying.

Keith, thankfully, was oblivious. "Ah, yeah." Keith laughed albeit embarrassedly. He gestured at the sketchbook in his lap. "The plants on this block are the prettiest to draw, in my opinion."

Lance sat down next to Keith and peeked at the page opened, and Keith didn't shy away. "Man, you make them look even better on paper than in reality. And that's saying something, because Allura takes care of the ones on this side."

Keith hummed in acknowledgment. The small smile on his face slipped off. Keith turned to face Lance. "So um, about yesterday—" Dread quickly flooded Lance's bones.

"Oh, yeah don't— it— it's cool, don't worry about it!" Lance's voice pitched up an octave higher than usual and the words cracked. He shoved his hands into his pockets and pointedly looked away from Keith. "Y'know, it's like— whatever, I— it was bound to happen. People think Hunk and I are married all the time—" _Lie_ . "Like no sweat, I'm totally chill about it—" _Lie_ . "And y'know, it's not a problem, no need to freak out. At all." _Lie lie lie_.

Keith squinted at him for a moment. Lance sweated in the silence. Then Keith broke into a smile. Keith looked away from Lance and laughed. "Oh man, glad we're on the same page."

Lance laughed and awkwardly rubbed his arm. His heart sank. "Yep. Totally." He swallowed down something suspiciously akin to disappointment. "Like, yeah, I'm bi, but I wouldn't date you."

Keith nodded. "And I'm gay, but I wouldn't date you."

The two men laughed, the sound choppy and forced. Lance tried to hide his dejected expression by checking his phone. "I uh, have to go to work now." Lance stood up from the bench mechanically. Keith nodded. They said small goodbyes, and Lance quickly fled the scene. 

He rounded a corner, and finally let the facade fall. He wiped away at burning eyes that threatened tears. Lance sniffed. "Of course he doesn't like me."

***

On the other side, Keith groaned. He grounded the heels of this palms into his eyes. He grumbled. "Of course he doesn't like me."

***

For the first time in what felt like forever, Shiro was at home.

Well, okay— Shiro and Keith had very different work schedules, so they could've easily missed each other multiple times. And Keith was actually getting out of the house more often (Lance was the obvious reason, but Keith wouldn't admit that yet). And yes, technically, Shiro ate dinner with him and Adam a couple of weeks ago. Also three days ago.

But still, it felt like a long time. And boy, did Keith need Shiro this time in his life.

Shiro was at the doorway, hugging and kissing and doing all that mushy stuff with his fiancé. Keith rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Netflix on his laptop. He got only a few seconds in before strong arms caught his head in a headlock. Keith shrieked and fumbled with his computer. The man above him laughed. "Shiro!" Keith protested. 

Shiro chuckled again and ruffled Keith's hair. "How's my favorite little baby bro doing?"

"Ugh. Watching Netflix before you ruined my 14-hour binge." Shiro shook her head in exasperation and sat next to Keith on the couch.

"Keith, Keith, Keith." Shiro tsked. "Number one, there's a TV right there." He pointed to the screen the couch directly faced. "And number two, I didn't mean what are you doing right now, I meant overall!" Shiro grinned. "Did you make some new friends? Is there a movie we should watch together? Is there any, uh, tea...? To be spilled?" Keith groaned and Shiro smirked. "Ooor... maybe some progress with a cute dude?"

At the hint of Lance, however teasing, Keith's heart dropped. He turned away from his brother. "Whatever. Adam probably told you everything he knew."

Shiro laughed. "Okay, you're not wrong. But I bet there's a lot of stuff in your life that Adam doesn't know." Then his expression softened. "Besides, I want to hear it from you."

Keith looked at his brother, and his hand exterior slowly crumbled. Keith sighed. "Alright." Shiro grinned and shifted into a more 'I'm listening' pose. Keith rolled his eyes again but didn't bother to hide his smile. "So uh, as Adam might've told you, Lance, Sofia and I went to hang out— Sofia's his kid, by the way." Shiro nodded along. "We went to the zoo at first. It was pretty fun. Both Lance and Sofia were crazy into the animals." Keith smiled at the memory of the two cheering on the seals in the seal show, clapping enthusiastically at every trick. "It's almost scary how similar they are at times.

"But, ah," Keith started to frown subconsciously. "During the entire time we were there, people were looking at us weirdly. That continued to when we decided to go to a nearby park. Probably half an hour in, Lance asks me if I notice the people too. I didn't, because I was super dense, but I realized it soon enough. So we planned to just gather Sofia and head back, because like, Lance was obviously not comfortable with strangers staring at his kid. But before we even got pack up this woman comes up to us and says that we were the cutest couple she'd ever seen!" Keith threw his arms up in frustration.

Shiro's shoulders were shaking with silent laughter. Keith sighed. "No way!" Shiro gasped out. He wiped away a stray tear. "Lemme guesses, you guys are totally a couple now, right." He caught Keith's dejected face and faltered. "Or, not?"

"We had a talk the next day about what happened and apparently, it's no big deal to him." Keith sighed and plopped his head into his hands. "He sounded so confident."

Hiro placed his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Aw Keith, don't worry. That doesn't mean he doesn't like you."

"He literally said that he was bi and would never date me," Keith said flatly.

Shiro hissed in sympathy. "Well, I wasn't there, but I still think there's a possibility that he only said that to escape further embarrassment and possibly rejection."

Keith nodded uncertainly. "I guess, I did the same thing too."

Shiro smile. He slapped Keith on the back, making the other man keel at the force. "There you go! Now let's go! To Adam's beautiful food and kisses!"

Adam distantly shouted from the second floor. "We ate all the fridge leftovers and I'm not in the mood to cook, Takashi!"

Shiro sighed. "Then, to my Kraft mac-and-cheese and Adam's kisses?" Adam shouted in agreement and Shiro whooped.

***

There was a little bench that faced the barred-in lot near the daycare. Lance sat on it now and stared at the uneven blue paint and faded ads on the crooked plywood. He had plucked off a dandelion off the street and was idly twirling it between his fingers. Lance knew that he’d been staring at that empty space for a while now, and he was probably getting some weird looks, but he couldn't get himself to care.

The park idea was surfacing into Lance mid again, and Lance felt horribly conflicted. 

The adult part of him was saying that there were only weeds and dry soil beyond that wooden fence. That to fix and build something on that land would cost an amount Lance could only imagine to afford. But that inner part of Lance that staying his ten-year-old self said that if Lance would just try, he would get those trees and those benches and the koi pond, and the people who would walk their big dogs around. Part of Lance hated that his hope still clung to him when he knew that reality would only serve to bring him down. Nevertheless, he decided to indulge his ten-year-old self, over and over.

Lance took out a small spiral notebook and flipped to the hearty middle of the pages. On the page he flipped to, there was already a tiny blueprint— if one could call it that— of his park. And while Lance was no artist, the drawing got across to the brain pretty easily.

First, it was the pond. His mamá took him to a park once, which held a little unassuming koi pond. It was truly impressive, but as soon as he saw it, he was in love. That day, he dreamed of having his own little fish and pond, to wiggle his fingers in the water, and watch the fish swim past.

Then a few years later, he saw the fenced-in space.

Lance used the bus to go to his middle school. The bus stop was placed a black right after that space and its fence, and that place always caught Lance's eye. It looked a little bit different back then. The wooden wall was painted a lighter blue, the plywood planks straight and strong, with and single graffiti mark and no paper advertisements there to sell fake products.

Lance asked around about the place, and there seen to be a common answer of "I don't know, but that place has been empty for years!" That piqued his curiosity. Empty for years... that was practically a reservation for his koi pond. And possibly a mini park, too?

Lance had tried to peek into space, trying to look for any hole or cranny to peer through. But the fence was just too solid. Lance would spend minutes just staring at the fence, clutching his backpack straps and daydreaming about his koi pond and park. Then he'd curse and run to the bus that was waiting at his stop.

The pond expanded to plants, then trees, then benches, then a little stone road for people to walk on, then the people and their dogs.

  
The tiny idea had grown to be so big, Lance had always felt a pang of guilt when he thought about it. _Nyma always told me to stop_. Her scoffs and scolding filled his head and Lance shook his head. But Lance took out a pen and quickly drew in some tiny red poppies around the edge of the koi pond.

He stuffed the notebook and pen away, then stood and walked home, refusing to look at the blue fence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, most sea lion shows (and the Bronx Zoo one, in particular, bc the playdate was there) are cruelty-free!
> 
> \----
> 
> Oh, by the way, I have an Instagram art account! I post all my artwork there (arguably better than my writing, lmao), including all voltron fanart!
> 
> Username: @ramenbroodle
> 
> I just posted some drawings of Lance and Sofia!
> 
> In case that doesn't work: https://www.instagram.com/p/B0OeAn-Atl5/
> 
> \----
> 
> I live off of kudos and comments!! Anything is appreciated and I love you all! \\(๑˃ヮ˂๑)/ ♡♡


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk finally pops the question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Hunk and Shay, and I just had to add something for them! ꒰๑˃͈꒳˂͈๑꒱ﾉ*ﾞ̥  
> I don't really have much to say for this chapter, it's pretty short and sweet and speaks for itself (*^-^)

It had been a couple weeks since what Lance had dubbed "The Couple Incident". Lance was, admittedly, still a bit off, but he'd quickly thrown his worrying aside to help Hunk.

"So, here's the plan. You ask Shay if she wants to go on a date on, coincidentally, the day you first met. Obviously, she says yes because she's your girlfriend and she's in love with you. Take her around Central Park— _avoid the horses, they smell horrible and it'll ruin the vibe—_ then once sunset comes around, take her to the place where you'll propose. It's covered in rose petals, sunflowers, and a bit of baby's breath. Shay drops the bouquet she's holding— you bought her one an hour back, forgot to mention that— she covers her mouth with both hands. Her eyes are glistening. Smoothly, you take her left hand away and hold it, smoothly, drop on one knee, and with your left hand, smoothly take out the box, flick it open and, with that smooth, sexy caramel voice of yours, you say it: 'Shay Johanna Balmera. Will you marry me?'" Lance paused and took a deep breath. He grinned. "Capisce?"

Hunk held a notebook in one hand and a pen in the other. he looked extremely overwhelmed. "...I—"

"Yeah, yeah you're right. Let's scrap the suave part, that's not really your style. Also, you probably don't remember when you met." Lance sighed and rubbed his chin. "The bouquet isn't a bad idea though..."

"Lance." Hunk put down his notebook and pen. "I— I'm thinking of proposing to her this week."

Lance froze, and his jaw dropped. Lance could see Hunk already taking that as a bad reaction so he quickly shook his head and spoke. "Wow, so I uh, I didn't know you'd be doing it so soon, but you go, man!"

Hunk laughed bashfully and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. I was actually just thinking of taking her around the park and doing a simple proposal. Simple speech. I like the flower idea, though."

Lance smiled encouragingly and patted Hunk on the shoulder. "That sounds great! You'll always get the last say in what you want to do, it's your proposal. I'll definitely help you out with the flower arrangements though." Lance reached across the table to grab Hunk's computer. "Maybe... maybe we can get Keith to join in on the help too."

Hunk smile. "That sounds great." 

"Awesome. So, let's start searching for flower shops around here..."

***

Keith was lounging on the kitchen floor, Adam and Shiro conversing over tea and coffee respectively when his phone buzzed. He frowned and took it out of his pocket.

_Lance: Hey, you free on Thursday, this week?_

Keith thought the text seemed a bit out of the blue, but he responded anyway.

_Keith: I think so. Why?_

It was a few seconds before the next few texts came in.

_Lance: Well, Hunk is thinking of proposing to Shay that day (finally!) and he needs help w preparing his Romantic Setting_ _TM_ _._

_Lance: I'm obvs helping, and so is Pidge (my other friend, u might've met her back at Hunk's dinner party), Allura and Matt (Pidge's brother)._

_Lance: I was wondering if u want in too?_

Keith blinked. Those last few sentences sounded like Lance was specifically thinking of him. He smiled and blushed.

"Thinking of someone special over there, Keith?" Shiro called out teasingly. Adam laughed.

Keith startled and glared at them. "Shut up!"' He shoved his face back into the phone and typed out a quick text.

_Keith: oh yeah, I'd love to. Tell Hunk that it was about time._

Keith watched Lance eagerly agree and send over the time, place, and other specifics.

Keith spoke, directing it to Shiro and Adam. "One of my friends, Hunk, is proposing to his girlfriend on Thursday. Lance wanted to know if I wanted to help out with preparations."

Shiro gasped. "Woah! Tell your friend congratulations! Do you know his girlfriend?"

"Yeah, I saw her at Hunk's dinner party. The two are perfect for each other. Honestly, it's like they're married already, the proposal was just bound to happen."

Shiro hummed in understanding. 

Adam piped up. "Well, tell them congrats once they're officially fiances, and that I'd love to meet them one day." Keith mumbled a "yeah", and Adam turned to Shiro. "Now, gimme your coffee, I know you're already tired with the taste." The two switched drinks and Adam got up to add some milk as Shiro gratefully drank the tea. Keith whispered something about their domesticity, but he smiled. It seemed sweet, anyway.

***

After hours of buying flower arrangements, hyping Hunk up, and setting the place, the group was finally finished. 

Lance flopped down next to Keith on the grass and sighed. "Whew, what a workout." Keith hummed in agreement. "Hunk just texted me to say that he's on his way. Come to think of it, I should tell the others." Lance stood up and held out a hand. "C'mon."

Keith took his hand and stood up, grunting at the effort. Keith stood back as he watched Lance call over the others and inform them about Hunk's text. Their friends responded cheerfully and exchanging a couple high fives and group cheers. The chatter had just started up when Lance shrieked loudly.

"Guys, guys they're coming! Hide!" Lance whispered frantically, and everybody cursed and scrambled. Keith was left confused and out in the open for a dreadful second before Lance yanked him behind a large bush.

"Lance, what are we doing?" Keith hissed harshly. "You didn't tell me about this!"

"I know Hunk will want pictures of this in the future. But he can't know I'm doing this because he'll freeze up, the big doofus. Now shut up, they're coming!"

The two fell silent. Through the leaves, Keith could see the couple slowly enter the clearing.

"Well uh, this is where I wanted to take you last," Hunk smiled shyly.

Shay looked around, in awe. "Hey, this is exactly where we met up for our first date! It looks... stunning." She studied the flowers. "Look at this. Roses, sunflowers, baby's breath? Nice touch."

Lance smirked beside Keith.

"Hunk this is great," Shay continued. She went to turn around back to Hunk. "I—" She froze. "Hunk?" Her boyfriend was kneeling, one knee on the petals and delicate flowers, holding out a simple black box and its ring. Her hands flew to her mouth, and Keith could see tears pricking at the corner of her eyes.

"Shay I, I'm not good with words, but... I can tell you that you are one of the best things to come out of my life. Every moment we've shared, from kisses to fights is one I would never take back for the world because I'm with you. Shay, you are sweet, kind, and bold. You dare me to go out of my comfort zone, and be my best self. You're also super strong— I still get impressed when I see you lift 200 pounds, it's seriously awesome—" Shay giggled. "And, I don't know. I just... you complete me. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So, Shay Johanne Balmera. Will you please marry me?"

It was an easy question, and everybody knew the answer. And yet, they all held their breaths. Even the wind seemed to silence at the scene, and the background chatter of distant tourists muted.

Shay broke into a watery grin and her hands slowly went to cup around Hunk's own. "Yes," she whispered waveringly. "With all my heart."

Hunk's face split into a smile, and he jumped up to kiss Shay. The silent spell was broken, and there was a sudden crack of applause. Keith felt his hands moving to the cadence, smiling himself. Hunk looked over and spotted Pidge, Matt, and Allura, and ran over to hug them. Whoops and cheers filled the air. Keith was never one for cheesy cliche scenes, but he felt as if he could make an exception.

Keith glanced to his right to peek at Lance. The other man was clapping as well, but not as enthusiastically as Keith thought he would be. His face was adorned with a soft, almost reminiscing smile, accented by the golden rays of the sunset that only served to intensity Lance's beauty.

Then Lance looked at Keith and smiled that vulnerably happy smile. He shifted closer to Keith, then looked back to gaze at the new finances again. "Keith," he sighed. "I really want to have a love like that."

Keith knew that there was a heavy weight to those words, one he didn't understand and didn't expect to unless Lance told him. But despite the confusion that Keith felt, or the words left unsaid, or the slight tinge of sadness to Lance's small smile, Keith hummed. "I wouldn't mind if I fell in love either."

And neither of them would say anything if their hands happened to brush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so ends Act 1! (Or at least, it feels like it-- they got over most of the denial, and now it's time for more drama!!)   
> \----  
> I live off of kudos and comments!! Anything is appreciated and I love you all! \\(๑˃ヮ˂๑)/ ♡♡


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright, they got over the main denial stage, good. But there's still so many obstacles to overcome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since Keith and Lance had finally fully acknowledged their feelings, it feels like this chapter is a beginning of Act 2 of the fic, or something, right? Or maybe that's just me,, ୧(๑❛ั⌔❛ั๑)୨ ॢ  
> Anyways, starting now, the real drama will start, and so much of Lance's past will be revealed (in good time, of course)! I'm really excited for it, I do hope it's not /too/ cringy!
> 
> \----
> 
> Also, Lance's birthday is coming up and I can't wait!! Well actually, my "Lance's b-day" drawing isn't done yet, so maybe I can wait a bit longer,, hehe (´･ε･̥ˋ๑)

_Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays,_

_'Cause no matter how far away you roam..._

Lance bustled around the kitchen, softly singing along to the Christmas song on the radio. He was helping Sofia make gingerbread cookies— or rather, he was making gingerbread cookies. Sofia was truly trying to help, but her interest in it came in waves. Occasionally she would pop up next to her father to add a couple stray sprinkles or whatnot. Currently, she was lying on her stomach on the kitchen floor, scribbling away with her crayons and markers on (Lance hoped) a couple of pieces of paper.

Lance stepped over his daughter to reach the cookie cutters and he spared a glance at her drawings. He saw a peek of blue, orange, and green in what seemed to be an organized formation, but he couldn't figure out what it was. "Hey cariño, what is that?" He started to move back to the dough.

Sofia looked over her shoulder with wide eyes, quickly hiding the sheet under her other drawing. "Nothing!" She stumbled to her feet, and effectively bumping and tangled herself with Lance's legs.

"Woah!" Lance stumbled and caught himself on the counter. He set the cookie cutters down and frowned. "Gotta be more careful, Sofia. I could've chopped your head off with these nasty sharp cutters!" He overdramatized, but he still meant the message.

Sofia gasped. "Sorry, Papi!"

Lance chuckled. "No problem. But it's a good thing your head didn't get chopped off— if you were dead, your poor Papi would be horribly alone, living his sad lonely life without any fun!" He swooned dramatically, laying the back of his hand on his forehead.

Sofia giggled. "That's not true! You have Keith!"

"Hm, I guess." It was true. He and Keith were spending a lot of time together, going to the movies, or the park, going out to dinner alone, and all that. Keith was getting dangerously close to Lance, in a way that he felt that the word friends didn't truly cut their relationship. More like... best friends. Or something. "But it wouldn't be the same." 

Sofia rolled her eyes. She got a new friend last month, who apparently love rolled her eyes. Sofia picked it up too, much to Lance's disgrace. "Okay okay, Papi." She grinned. "I wanna help!" She slapped her hands on the flour covered counter, powdering her hands.

"Oh?" Lance pulled up a stepping stool and Sofia climbed up. "Alright. You can pick half of the cookie cutters. I'll take the other half." Sofia nodded, and took the butterfly, star, and flower, leaving Lance with the fish, heart and Christmas tree. Lance was in the middle of instructing Sofia to be careful with the blades when the doorbell rang.

Sofi's head whipped toward the sound. "I'll get it!" She hopped off the stool and ran to the door.

"Sofia, your hands—" Sofia yanked open the door. Lance sighed in defeat.

"Oh, hey Sofia." A soft voice made Lance's head jolt up. He jogged to the door to see a familiar mop of raven black hair, and a gentle smile. Keith looked up, and his smile widened. "Hey Lance."

"Hey, Keith!" Lance grinned. He shifted from foot to foot. "Yeah, we were just making gingerbread cookies, sorry about the mess."

"No, no it's fine." Keith let himself be lead in by Sofia. "Your house is cute."

Lance scoffed. "You flatterer."

Sofia piped up. "And you've been to our house before, Keith!"

"Yeah, but that's no reason not to say it again." Keith glanced up at Lance and smiled. "And being a flatterer isn't necessarily bad." Lance felt his face burn up at those words. "Anyways, I came over to ask if—"

"Keith, Keith, Keith! Bake cookies with us!" Sofia bounced excitedly.

"Uh—" Keith glanced at Lance uncertainly.

_"Please?"_

Lance winced. Sofia was pouting at Keith with those 100% guaranteed-to-give-Sofia-what-she-wanted puppy dog eyes. There was no way Keith could get out of that.

"Well... I don't really see why not."

Sofia cheered and ran off to the kitchen. Lance moved to walk next to Keith. "Sorry about getting you all roped in. You aren't in a rush, are you?"

Keith shook his head. "Oh, no, it's fine."

Lance nodded, and they entered the messy kitchen. Sofia stepped onto her stepping stool and picked up her butterfly-shaped cookie cutter. "Keith, you can have this one. Papi, you should pick out one to give to Keith too."

"Good thinking, cariño! Now we all have two cookie cutters." Lance handed Keith the heart-shaped cutter, and Sofia puffed up in pride. 

"So, uh, what are we trying to do? I haven't actually baked in a while."

Lance turned to Keith. "Oh, that's no problem! Really, we were just making gingerbread men at first, but we had extra dough, and Sofia thought that we should make cookies in other shapes." He pointed to the three trays of doughy gingerbread men on the side. "The other cookies are over there. Once we finish these, all trays will go into the oven at the same time, since there will probably only be five trays. When the cookies are done, we'll decorate them! Oh, and we're going to give a couple gingerbread men to Hunk and Shay."

"That was my idea," Sofia injected proudly, and Lance laughed.

"Yeah girl, it was. You're a genius!" Lance ruffled Sofia hair and she giggled.

Sofia, Keith, and Lance cut out a good two trays' worth of cookies. Lance slid the five trays into the oven and closed the door with a rough clank. The man turned to the other two and rubbed his hands. "Now we wait ten minutes!"

Sofia immediately tugged Keith over to her pile of drawings, and Lance smiled and went to make the icing.

***

"Alright," Sofia declared. "I'm going to draw." She brought up a stack of fresh blank paper and put it in the middle. Already used to the routine, Keith nodded and reached for a piece of paper. As he was working on a doodle, he noticed that Sofia didn't get a new paper, but rather continued to work on a previous drawing. It was a design Keith had seen before.

"Hey, is that another koi pond?"

"Uh huh!" Sofia didn't look up from her drawing. "I wanted the pond to have Papi's favorite flowers all around it, so I'm drawing it again. I asked Papi what his favorite flower was, and he said bluebells. I thought that they would look like blue bells, but I asked Tio Hunk to be sure."

"Bluebells, huh?" Keith murmured. 

"Yep. And I was right— Tio said that they do look like blue bells. So look!" Sofia held out her drawing for Keith to inspect. Around the scribbled in pond Sofia had drawn, large crooked blue old fashioned bells. It was pretty cute.

"Huh. I like them." Sofia grinned, and Keith smiled back. "Mind if I draw some bluebells of my own?"

Sofia nodded her head excitedly. "Yeah! I like your drawings!"

Keith didn't mention her incorrect grammar. "Thanks." He picked up a blue marker and a green one, focusing on the materials rather than Sofia inching closer to him in sneaky interest. 

Keith drew in a couple of blue flowers, then connected them with a slim green stem. He did this a few times before Sofia interrupted him.

"Lemme try, lemme try!" She bounced as much as she could while lying down. Keith handed her the markers and Sofia took them. She drew a few on her paper. They were albeit shakier and less in proportion than Keith, but he thought it made the flowers more endearing.

"That's not bad."

Sofia grinned. "Thanks! Oh oh! What's your favorite flower?"

"Um, poppies, I guess."

"Oh..." Sofia scrunched up her nose, and Keith furrowed his brows. Was that the... wrong answer? Did Sofia secretly hate poppies or something? "I... How do you draw a poppy?"

"Oh." Keith laughed and untensed. "Well, they're red and have a couple big-ish petals. They also have these little black pollen... things in the middle... poppies are really hard to describe. Here, I'll draw them out for you." Keith plucked a red and yellow marker to doodle a little poppy on his paper. "Like that."

"Ohh! Okay!" Sofia made grabby hands and Keith handed her the markers. Next to the bluebells, Sofia drew a couple of poppies. "Now look! You and Papi are together!"

Keith choked on his spit. "What?"

Sofia continued happily. "Because you two are best friends." 

"Oh." Keith breathed a sigh of relief. "But what about Tio Hunk?"

"Eh. Tio Hunk already has Tia Shay. And Papi acts more different around you than when he's with Tio Hunk. He's all like nice and soft, like a teddy bear. I think he acts like this because he thinks you're pretty." Keith's breath hitched. "I mean, he almost does the same thing when he talks about my, uh, my mom. Papi tells me not to call her that, but I don't like her name. Anyways, Papi told me that she was super pretty. And when Papi talks about my... mom, he always gets this weird soft face, and it's kinda like how he looks at you, but it's a lot sadder. And Papi always told me that whenever he looks sad..."

By now, Keith had shaken himself out of his stupor and had half the mind to stop Sofia. "Hey Sofia," Keith said softly. "Thank you, but I think that if you Papi wants me to hear what you're telling me, then he'll tell me himself."

Sofia blinked up at him. "Oh. Okay."

Keith smiled at her, and the girl looked back at her drawing. She muttered something that sounded like _it's not a bad thing_ , but Keith ignored that and decided to switch to a lighter topic. "So, what's your favorite flower?"

As Keith listened to Sofia describe Queen Anne's Lace, his mind could help but drift off to think about Lance, and Sofia's mother. But he quickly shook himself out of it. Besides, Lance would tell if he wanted to.

***

Beep beep! Beep beep!

"Oh!" Lance looked up from drawing next to Keith and Sofia. "The cookies are done." He made his way over to the oven, followed by an excited Sofia, and Keith right behind. Lance opened to the oven door and, shooing Sofia away, took out the trays of gingerbread.

Keith got a whiff of the cookies. "Woah. They smell great. Good job Lance." Sofia poked Keith's hip. "And Sofia."

"And you helped too, Keith!" Sofia grinned. She turned to Lance. "Papi, can we decorate them now?"

"Almost. We need the cookies to cool down a bit so the frosting doesn't melt on it. But I'll move the cookies to the kitchen table." 

Keith piped up. "Lance, I can help with the trays, if you'd like me to."

Lance brightened. "Ah, thanks! There's some extra mitts in the top right cupboard, closest to the fridge— yep, that one." While Keith put on the oven mitts, Lance turned to face Sofia. "Cariño, could you get the frosting tubes? I put them on the counter, and if you can't find them, Keith or I could help." Sofia nodded and ran off. Keith and Lance set up the trays along the table. Lance put his hands on his hips.

"This is going to be pretty hard to split up. But I was thinking we all get one tray each of gingerbread men, then Sofia can get one tray of the assorted cookies. We can share the last tray. Is that alright?"

"Sounds perfect."

Lance grinned. "Ugh, this is so great! I'm baking cookies that turn out nice, and I get to hang out with my daughter and my best friend all at once." At that, Keith looked up.

"Best friend, huh? What about Hunk?"

Lance shrugged and grinned. "Oh, you can have more than one best friend." Keith snorted over his response, and Lance laughed. "Now c'mon, pull up a chair and we can start."

They all sat around the small circular table, Sofia on Keith's left, and Lance on his right. Sofia immediately grabbed the pink tube of frosting.

"I'm going to make the best cookies in the world," Sofia declared.

Lance grinned. "Oh, really?"

"Uh huh!" She took a butterfly and a fish cookie. "They're gonna have a lot of candy, and all of the colors."

"Sounds cool. I'm starting with a star." Lance held up said cookie shape. He reached for another cookie as well. "Hey Keith, you should try out this one."

Keith squinted at the heart-shaped cookie Lance gave him. "Hm. I like it." Lance grinned.

The three hardly working in silence, with a five-year-old right in the middle, but the chatter was peaceful and light. Keith heard a soft laugh and a felt poke to his right shoulder. He looked up at Lance. Lance leaned closer to Keith.

"Look at Sofia's," Lance whispered.

Keith leaned in to listen, then his eyes flicked over to Sofia. Softly, a grin overtook his face. Sofia on the other side was heavily concentrated on creating a candy heart in between the butterfly and the fish without it falling apart. "She's so cute," Keith mumbled, and Lance snickered in agreement.

"Sofia," Lance called. The girl perked up to attention. "If you want the candies to stick, trying using the icing as glue."

Sofia wrinkled her nose while she processed the words, then slowly nodded. She tried Lance's method and lit up when it worked.

Lance smiled. "So cute." He turned to Keith. "What are you making?"

Keith looked down at his cookie. So far, it only had a purple outline at icing. "I honestly don't know. It is kind of hard to decorate a heart shape." Keith looked pointedly at Lance, and Lance giggled.

"Yeah, I guess. But look at mine!" He angled his star-shaped cookie at Keith. The cookie was embellished with a flowery outline of yellow, and several gumdrops placed evenly in the middle. "Honestly Keith, you're just missing the candy." Lance plucked up two sour patch kids and placed them on top of Keith's cookie. "See? Much better."

Keith smiled. "I see." Keith fastened the red and blue candy together so it seemed like they were holding hands. "Like that?" 

Lance squealed. "That's so cute! Sofia, look at what Keith made!" Sofia looked up from her candy monstrosity and her face lit up. She made grabby hands, and Keith handed over his cookie for her to coo over. 

"Hey. Here's a more complex shape for you." Lance handed Keith a fish-shaped cookie. Keith smiled.

"Thanks."

Sofia looked up form Keith's cookie to stare at Lance giving Keith the fish. She made grabby hands at Lance, and he leaned closer. Keith watched Sofia whisper something into Lance's ear. Lance jerked back away from Sofia with furrowed brows. "What? No," he reprimanded in a hushed tone. "Why are you worrying about that?" Sofia slunked back in her chair with a pout. Lance sighed and reached for a gingerbread man, and Keith ducked his head. 

After a few more minutes, all the cookies have been decorated. Lance whooped. "Good job, team!" Sofia excitedly copied him and Keith smiled.

Lance took a moment to look around at everybody's cookies. Sofia had stuck to her plan of making them as sugary as possible. But among them, Lance noticed two gingerbread men that looked suspiciously like him and Keith. Lance smiled. Keith's cookies were admittedly the best. The fish cookie seemed to resemble a koi fish. While being basic in its shape, was decorated with red, orange and white scales, and had dots of striking cobalt eyes. Keith had also cut out slices of gumdrops to place over several of the scales. It would be a pain to watch somebody eat such a beauty. Lance's gaze slid to the left and he gasped. Lance quickly plucked up another one of Keith's cookies.

"Is this—!" He whipped around to look at Keith. The other man smiled bashfully and nodded. "Oh my— wow! Sofia, look at this!" Lance excitedly turned the cookie for Sofia to see. 

It was a gingerbread girl replica of Sofia. There was a blue icing overall dress with gumdrop buttons and a pink frosted flower patterns, rosy cheeks, and a simple smile.

"It even has her little pigtails," Lance cooed. "Okay okay, we're definitely keeping this one." Lance carefully placed the gingerbread down on the table. "Oh, and I love these two, Sofia, why don't we keep these, yeah?" Sofia grinned proudly and Lance put the gingerbread Lance and Keith nest to the Sofia. Lance looked around and huffed. "Darn, all of your cookies look so good! Tio Hunk and Tia Shay will love them," Lance turned to Sofia. "Sofia, pick one that you think they'd really like— Sofia?"

Keith turned to Sofia and saw a deep pout on her face. "Hey, Sofia, what's wrong?"

The girl shrunk lower in her seat and grumbled something his ears couldn't pick up. Lance frowned. "Sofia, we can only know if you tell up what it is." He spoke in a lower tone. He shifted toward his daughter and said something in a stern tone that made her look up at Keith guilty, then back down again.

Sofia clenched her hands. She grumbled a bit before she raised her voice. "Mmm... I don't want to give them away!" she whined. She clamped her mouth back into her tight frown.

Lance looked confused and bewildered, and Keith supposed he did too. "The cookies?"

Sofia nodded.

"But Sofia, it was your idea—"

"I don't want to!"

"No even for Tia Hunk y Tia Shay?" Sofia hesitated then shook her head. Lance drew his eyebrows close, and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Por favor, cariño, sea razonable." Keith averted his eyes— he felt like he was intruding on a scene. "Look, look. We don't even have to pick a lot, just a few. Look, I can take this fish from my pile—"

Sofia slapped the cookie out of his hands. "No!"

"Sofia!"

Sofia's eyes widened, then she scrunched up her face. She hopped out of her chair and stormed to her room. Keith and Lance watched speechlessly, and Lance flinched at the tiny click of the door.

The room was silent for a few tense seconds. Then Lance began to laugh, broken and disbelieving. Keith released a breath he didn't know he was holding. 

"I can't believe it," Lance said quietly. He was still wearing that uncomfortable grin.

"Lance—"

"What's wrong with me, Keith?" Lance whipped around and hissed. "My kid's having these horrible mood swings and I don't know how to deal with them, because they come out of the middle of fucking nowhere," Lance took a shaky breath. "Keith, I—"

"Hey, let's sit down first." Keith gently placed his hand on Lance's forearm. Lance slowly sunk to the floor and Keith followed. 

"I thought I got the hang of it, to just go past year two and everything would be fine until thirteen but no, now she's going into kindergarten and meeting new friends, and one of them always rolls her eyes and Sofia loves using that now. I bet it was that girl who caused this, huh? Bet it was that bitch Jessica—"

Keith rubbed Lance's back awkwardly. "I'm sure Jessica didn't have much to do with this."

Lance hid his face in his hands. "You're right... I'm just a horrible parent..."

"I'm sure it's not that either." Keith shifted to face Lance. "Listen, you're doing a great job as a parent, and the fact that Sofia's now going through some moods doesn't change that. And I don't know much about kids, really, but I'm pretty sure moods like this are normal. I definitely had more than a couple episodes when I was younger. And you really do seem to be raising her well; she didn't even slam the door."

"I don't care if she slams the door, man, I just want her to be happy." Lance sighed and groaned. He scrubbed his face. "Ugh, I'm so sorry."

"For what?"

"Everything."

"I don't mind."

Lance hummed and rolled over on his back. He immediately winced. "Oh, wow, bad idea. The floor's really cold and hard." Keith laughed, and the mood seemed to slowly brighten. They sat in comfortable silence for a bit, before Lance sighed. "Well I uh, I guess I should talk to Sofia. She probably brooded herself out by now." He pushed himself up to his feet.

Keith stood up as well and smiled. "I'm sure everything will work out fine." Lance smiled back gratefully, and Keith felt his heart beat faster. Keith jerkily pointed a thumb to the door. "So— I guess I'll just— walk myself outta here—"

Lance nodded quickly. "Oh! Yeah— I— I guess so." He broke into nervous giggles, and Keith joined him.

"I'll uh, get going—"

"Wait, Keith!" Keith turned around and saw Lance fiddling with his fingers. "You, you came by to tell me something—"

Keith widened his eyes. Right. That. "Oh, don't worry about it, go take care of Sofia. I'll ask you sometime else." Lance's face relaxed and he nodded. He waved Keith goodbye as the other man shook on his jacket, then turned to Sofia's doorway.

***

Shiro was waiting for Keith when he got home. "So what did he say?"

"Dunno." Keith flopped on the couch. "Didn't ask."

"What? I thought you've been meaning to ask him out for forever now!"

"S'not that big of a deal." Keith clicked on Netflix and settled in. "I can wait. I know Sofia needs him more than I do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of Keith and Lance's greatest flaws is that despite being extremely determined and goal-oriented, they just /love/ to settle when it comes to romance,,, (/_<。)  
> \----  
> I live off of kudos and comments!! Anything is appreciated and I love you all! \\(๑˃ヮ˂๑)/ ♡♡


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio goes on another playdate, and Lance opens up to Keith a bit more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been a hot minute since I last updated, sorry! (つ﹏<。) But hopefully this chapter will make it up! It's juicy, a lot of fluff, angst, and background stories, the whole package! ꒰๑˃͈꒳˂͈๑꒱ﾉ*ﾞ̥

It was strange, the way Keith had become like a fixture in Lance's life. Whenever Lance was stressed to the point of snapping, Keith was there. Whenever Sofia had a fit, Keith was there to comfort. Whenever Lance just felt like hanging out, Keith was always open. _It's almost like Keith is a guardian angel,_ Lance mused as he sipped his coffee. He watched Keith and Sofia play footsie under the table, Keith wearing a light grin. _He certainly looks like an angel,_ raced quickly through Lance's mind, and he shook the thought off with a blush. He can’t, not yet.

The three were sitting in a coffee shop. Keith's brother had recommended an ice skating rink in the area, and Keith asked if Lance and Sofia wanted to go with him, and Sofia immediately jumped up to the offer.

"Papi!" Sofia yelled. "I finished my hot chocolate!"

Lance laughed. "Oh, good, cariño. But let's use inside voices, yeah?" Sofia nodded happily and tapped her lips.

Keith spoke up. "So, the rink opens soon, and I think it would be really good to get there before the crowd. "

"Oh! Yes, absolutely." Lance nodded. "Sofia, you ready to go?"

She chirped an affirmative, and the three stood up to pack. A gust of cold wind blasted them and Lance bundled Sofia's scarf tighter to her neck. They trekked a couple of blocks before stopped at the rink and its building. Lance quickly paid, and they walked inside.

Already, there was a small crowd inside, people bustling around, wobbling in skates, and slamming locker doors. Lance sat down on a bench near some open lockers, Sofia quickly copying him. Lance dug out Sofia's pink and white skates, and Sofia stuck out her feet, shoes taken off. He fastened the skates tightly, triple checking. Immediately after he finished, Sofia hopped off the bench and walked around. Lance started to put on his own skates.

Keith popped up next to him, his own black skates already on. "She doesn't need one of those plastic penguin supports?"

Lance tightened the last row of shoelace. "Nope! We McClains are like angels on ice. I taught her a while back." Then Lance spotted Keith's shoes and frowned. "Hey, those shoes aren't tight enough!"

"Uhh..."

Lance tittered. He kneeled and unknotted Keith's skates. "You're gonna twist an ankle like this," he muttered. He tugged the laces stiff, then stood and brushed off his hands. "Now they're much safer."

Keith smiled. "Thanks." He started to stand and immediately wobbled. Lance yelped and caught him around the waist. Keith nervously laughed. "I... sorry."

"No problem." He offered his hand to Keith. "You can hold my hand if you can't walk." Keith nodded, and Lance hid a smile. Lance called Sofia over, and the three made their way over the edge of the skating rink.

Somewhere along the way, Keith had lightly holding Lance's hand to grip his arm like it was his life source. Sofia hard already made it onto the ice, skating in mellow circles. Lance and Keith were still on the edge.

"C'mon Keith, we need to get on the ice. We're kinda holding up a line."

Keith gulped and nodded. He shakily stepped foot on this ice. Lance stepped on too and casually tugged Keith further into the ice. With two feet on the ice and in Lance's arms, Keith slowly smiled— then felt himself slip. They both yelped and gripped each other. 

Lance looked startled. "Dude, how many times have you've even skated?"

Keith scrunched up his face. "Like, two, maybe three times," he mumbled.

Lance blinked in confusion. "Then why... would you want to go ice skating?"

Keith stared at Lance, and Lance realized how close their faces were to each other. "You once said you liked ice skating," Keith said breathlessly.

Lance blinked. "Oh." There was a fair chance that he did, in fact, say that, at one point. But the fact that Keith remembered made Lance's heart stutter. "Well." Lance straightened a bit, coughing into his fist and turning his head to hide the blush. "If, if you want, I could teach you, or something." Keith nodded, and Lance pretended not to see his flush. It was probably just the cold. And damn, was Lance freezing. 

Lance cleared his throat. "Okay, so I'm gonna backward, and you can follow my lead, but forward. Just copy my footwork, yeah?"

Keith nodded again, and Lance smiled. Slowly, they moved around the rink. Lance muttered soft things like "push your feet sideways more" and "that's it, you're doing great", even if was just to fill their perfect silence with something other than Christmas music. Gradually, their chafing on ice became gliding, and Keith looked like he was actually having fun. Sofia popped in and out to talk but never left their peripheral vision.

"Papi!" Sofia tugged on Lance's jacket, and he looked down. "Can we get cupcakes?"

"No promises, and you'll have to eat all of your lunch first. Are you hungry now?"

Sofia shook her head. "No, I wanna skate more." Her eyes flickered to Keith and she brightened. "Keith! Skate with me!"

Keith smiled nervously. "Yeah, no problem." He maneuvered himself to Sofia's side, Lance lingering at his side. "Just a heads up though, I'm not as good as skating as your Papi is, and I'm definitely not as good as you."

Sofia grinned. "I know, I saw! And what's a 'heads up'?" As Lance explained the expression, the three skated in a slow line, Keith's hands clasped in both Lance's and Sofia's. It was an enjoyable scene, and gone too soon— they bustled off the rink for the ice to be rebuffed. They shuffled back onto land, the difference in surface shocking Keith.

"it's going to be a while before the ice is ready again," Lance said. "so let's find a place a place to sit, and we can eat." After a few minutes, they decided on a mellow eating area outside. They ate their sandwiches and fruit, Sofia and Keith trading apple slices and cheese under the table, and Lance pretending not to notice. 

"I finished eating!" Sofia announced. She thrust her plastic container to Lance for him to check.

Lance nodded and took the container from Sofia's hands. "Good job! Do you still want to go for dessert?" Sofia nodded in excitement. "What type? We can get cupcakes or ice cream."

"Cupcakes. It's too cold for ice cream."

Lance agreed. He and Keith picked up the rest of the stuff, and Sofia helped throw away trash. When the three started walking, Sofia skipped up next to Keith.

"I wanna get a cupcake like the one Tia Shay gave me," Sofia declared.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Uh-huh! Tia and Tio liked me and Papi's cookies so much that they gave me a cupcake!"

Keith looked up and caught Lance's eye. "That sounds nice." _I'm glad it worked out_. Lance gave him a tired smile. 

"Yep!" Sofia remained unaware of the silent conversation above her. "It was about this big," she curved her fingers into a circle, "and yellow with a white flower out on top! It was really yummy, and..." Sofia babbled on about the cupcake, then Hunk and Shay, then the names and personalities of all her friends. Lance moved to walk next to Keith. Keith unconsciously leaned into his presence. 

The two men stayed silent for a while, content to just listen to Sofia.

Then Lance fluttered his eyelashes, flicked his gaze, shifted his posture. Keith knew that he wanted to talk. Lance took in a shallow breath. "She reminds me of her mother, sometimes," he murmured quietly.

The air was different, after that, from the way Keith walked stiffer, to how Lance seemed to avoid eye contact ever more if possible, to how Keith was so much more aware of how their hands brushed, yet the wind still whispered between the gap between their shoulders. So Keith tried to choose his words carefully. "How so?"

"She's talkative." Lance huffed a laugh through his nose, but there was no amusement with it. "I don't know. Nyma ranted a lot about things and places and people who didn't matter, and Sofia... she rants in the same voice. She emphasizes the "this" and "that" and rushes past the word "really". Her voice gets really high on the first word of a sentence, then slowly descends, and it takes three or four sentences to get back to normal. It's— I— I don't know, it's stupid. But it drives me crazy. The only reason I think I can stand it is because Sofia talks about what she loves. And I'm pretty sure Nyma never loved anything for more than a few months, if at all." Lance sighed. "It's just— their voices are just _so similar_."

Keith blinked. There was a pain in Lance's soft speech that ripped through his own heart. Keith wanted to comfort him, telling Lance that everything will be alright, time heals all wounds, and Sofia will grow up independent and more like you than her mother, that Keith would always be there if Lance needed him, that he would do anything for him. Keith wanted to scream and shout that Nyma didn't deserve Lance's thoughts, that Lance and Sofia were so much more, that Lance was so much more than a love interest. 

Keith felt so much, and his thoughts clouded thick and threatened to choke him—

He managed out, "Oh."

Lance laughed short and bittersweet. "Yeah, oh." 

Keith's eyes widened and he scrambled to say more, but his mouth was heavy, and his throat felt stuffed with cloth. Lance cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey, looks like we're here."

Lance, Keith, and Sofia entered the sweets shop with a jingle. Lance helped Sofia pick a cupcake, and paid for it. Everything went as normal, but Keith saw Lance more subdued, closed off. And yet, the knot in Keith's throat wouldn't go away. All to soon, Sofia finished her cupcake and they were in Keith's car, driving back to Lance's apartment. The car ride was quiet between Keith and Lance.

Keith brought the car to a stop in front of Lance's building and walked the McClains to the lobby door.

Lance gave Keith a small, infinitesimal smile, not showing any teeth. His left hand was stuffed into his jacket pockets. "Thanks for suggesting the rink. We had fun." He looked down at Sofia, who clasped his hand. She nodded eagerly and rambled a few words that made Keith smile.

"Yeah, no problem. I had fun too."

Lance smiled and he and Sofia turned away. Keith pursed his lips. He needed to say more.

"Lance!"

Lance startled and turned at Keith's outburst. Keith was almost just as surprised.

Keith bit his lip. "...Have a good rest of the day," he managed.

Lance gave him a friendly, though confused smile. "You too, Keith."

Keith watched them walk further into the lobby, feeling a heavy stone in his stomach. He sighed and walked back to his car. That wasn't what he wanted to say. That wasn't what he wanted to say. Keith slammed the car door shut and leaned his head on the steering wheel. He heaved a shuddering breath. That wasn't what he wanted to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh shittt,,,  
> \----  
> I live off of kudos and comments!! Anything is appreciated and I love you all! \\(๑˃ヮ˂๑)/ ♡♡


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith reaches out to Lance in the middle of the night, and they talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally reached 1k hits on this fic!!! Never did I think I would get so many views (especially considering the state of the vld fandom nowadays, heh,,), I'm blown away! Thank you all so much! <3  
> (´ฅω•̩̩̩ ฅ｀)
> 
> \----
> 
> This chapter is really really really soft. Like, it's almost overbearing. But this is a very important part to the story!! Also, I love this chapter a lot, it always makes me feel like the reader instead of the writer when I read over, which is honestly the best feeling ever ♡ I hope you like it too! ฅ( ͒ᵕ̳ωᵕ̳ ͒)ฅ ♡

Lance woke up to the sound of buzzing. He groaned and flopped his hand over to the noise. His hand landed on his phone, and he brought it up to his face. Lance squinted at the harsh brightness of the screen. Who the hell was calling him at— he checked— 1:30 in the morning? He pressed the "accept" button anyway.

"Hello?" Lance called groggily.

"Hey." Keith's voice answered back, hushed.

Lance lied his phone on the bed and rolled on his side. He closed his eyes and imagined Keith was there with him. Was that weird? He didn't care. "What are you doing, calling me so late?"

"More like early," Keith joked, but sounded abashed.

Lance huffed a laugh. "Yes, that."

"I know, and I'm sorry it's just— I've had something on my mind, since yesterday. When we went out. I felt like I needed to talk to you, so I called." There was an awkward silence. "Now that I think about it, this seems so weird and creepy." There was some rustling on the other side of the phone. "Sorry, I— I'll just— hang up—"

"No!" Lance replied quickly, then followed up slower. "No, I— I don't mind. Thank you for thinking of me," he added shyly.

"Oh, alright," Keith heaved a sigh of relief. "And no, thank you."

Lance hummed. "So, talk?"

"Oh, um. I was thinking, not through the phone? I wanted to talk to you in person."

"Oh. Right now?"

"I mean, yeah, I— oh shit, is Sofia gonna be alright— "

"She's at a friend's house for a sleepover tonight."

"Oh. Alright."

Lance's heart felt fuzzy. "Alright."

"I'll meet you outside your building, okay?"

"No problem."

"Alright, I'm gonna hang up now. Thanks." Keith's awkward voice rang before the line cut.

Lance smiled at his phone screen then stepped out of bed. He tugged on a pair of sweatpants and shrugged on a sweater. After a few minutes, his phone buzzed with a text notification from Keith saying he was there. Lance peeked out the window and saw Keith bouncing on the balls of his feet. He quietly shut the shades and headed downstairs. Lance quickly walked across the lobby to swing open the double doors. He found Keith shuffling around almost impatiently. Lance cleared his throat.

Keith swung around startled at the noise, but smiled when he saw it was Lance. "Hey."

"Hey," Lance echoed, smiling. "So what's got you all up in a twist?"

"Can— can we walk it out for a bit? I need to collect my words."

Lance nodded and the two started moving.

It was a long time before anyone talked, and when they did, it wasn't even about Keith's topic.

"Hey, we're at the daycare center." Keith's body jerked up at Lance's voice, and he hummed in response. "I've really only ever driven here, not walked."

"Me neither."

Lance slowed down in front of the daycare doors and Keith followed. The building was locked for the night, quite obviously, and it looked less cheerful. The painted yellow flowers on the walls seemed to blend into the darkness. "You know, I think I used to have a thing for Allura." Lance didn't know why he brought that up.

Lance felt Keith tense beside him. "Oh, really."

Lance hummed an affirmation. "Yeah, like not a thing, really, but kind of as well. It never really went anywhere, though."

"Why not?"

Lance shrugged. "She didn't like me that. And I don't think I could've handled it, anyway. Never... wanted the long-term relationship. I've never really gone after any love, after Nyma." Aaand there it was, talking about his failed romance. _God Lance, wouldn't you just shut up,_ Lance berated himself. "But, I'm glad I tried."

Keith slid his pinky against Lance's and grounded him. "Any improvement is good, Lance." Keith's eyes flicked to the side of the road, and he smiled. "Hey, it's our koi pond."

Lance looked over and chuckled a laugh. "God, that was so long ago. I almost forgot."

They crossed the street to stare at the lot with the blue painted fence. fence. Keith pushed at the bottom of the fence and he could see weeds poking out from beneath. "Wow, this is really old."

Lance sighed. "Yeah. It's actually been empty for like ten years or so, and I haven't really seen any official people looking at it. And I don't know why, it's such a big space, and in a good neighborhood too."

Keith walked to where the fence ended and peeked around the corner. He grinned. "Hey, look at this." Lance walked around and his eyes widened. The fence's walls caved heavily inward, and he could see the inside of the fence.

"No way," Lance breathed. He squeaked when Keith started towards the felled fence. "Keith, what are you doing!" He rushed forward when the other man tested his weight on the wood. "You're not supposed to go in there, you'll get in trouble, or get splinters—" He stopped when Keith offered him a hand. After a moment, Lance shyly took it. "We're gonna get into so much trouble," he grumbled.

"You just said that nobody's checked it for a decade," Keith rebutted.

"Alright, alright." Lance giggled when Keith helped him down from the last wood plank. "I feel like such a teenager," he whispered.

Keith grinned. "I know, but it's so fun," he whispered back. He glanced back at Lance, and his breath caught. Lance's soft blue sweater brought out the blue in his eyes. He seemed to glow in the night, like his smile was the light of the stars they missed in the city sky.

Lance quirked an eyebrow. "Something on my face?"

Keith coughed and looked away. "Ah, no."

When both of their feet crunched on the soil, there was a silence. "...Now what do we do?" Lance asked awkwardly.

The absurdity of the situation hit Keith, and he laughed. Lance looked startled.

"What are you laughing at?" Lance tried for an indignant tone, but his grin gave him away.

"Sorry it's just— ” Keith broke into another giggle. "That was just so out of the blue."

"Well, this all is kinda out of the blue!"

Keith sighed when he calmed down and brushed his bangs out of his face. "Yeah, it is."

They decided to sit down on a place where the weeds didn't grow too high.

"So... can you imagine your koi pond being there?"

Lance turned at Keith's question. "What? Wait... didn't we talk about that like, when we first met?" Keith hesitantly nodded. Lance laughed and shifted his body to face Keith. "Man, that was, what, six months ago? I can't believe you still remember that."

Keith shrugged and smiled. "So what do you think?" he repeated.

Lance look around. From inside the fence, the area looked even larger than he thought it would. Most of the weeds grew to about above his shins, if not to his waist, and wildflowers dotted the grounds. "It's perfect," he whispered.

The two sat in silence. Lance picked at a Queen Anne's Lace. "You know," Keith started, "you shouldn't have to be defined by your ex-girlfriend." Keith watched Lance stiffen. "That's what I wanted to tell you, this night, " he said haltingly. "I know I might be overstepping or something but— ”

"No, it's— it's alright." Still, Keith felt guilty. Lance looked more tired, less light than he was just a few seconds before. "I'm not consciously doing it, Keith. She's been a big part of my life for two years, and she was the longest relationship I've ever had. I can't just take her out of my life, even though I want to so bad." 

Lance sighed. "Did you know that our relationship was already going sour before Sofia? Deep down, we knew we were not meant to be together, but we forced it to work. And it came to the point where she cheated on me." Keith opened his mouth, but Lance barreled on. "And I don't blame her! It just came to the point where we were both doubtings. Nyma and I were dumb teenagers, and I don't really hold a grudge against her. Only myself." Lance turned his head from the night sky to look at Keith, and he smiled softly. "But Keith, I'm fine. I have a decent house, and alright job, food, and a daughter who I love, _so much_. And we're doing fine."

Keith frowned. "But that's just an outside view, Lance. So yeah, physically you're doing fine, but if Sofia's mother is still playing with your thoughts and you're blaming yourself, that's a problem. I know I don't know that much about her, but from what you described, you had a neglected relationship. Not all relationships are like that, and none should be. You deserve so much more than that." Keith smiled at Lance's stunned face. "So fuck Neila," Keith finished.

Lance paused, then laughed quietly. "Her name's Nyma."

Keith shrugged. "Whatever, it's all the same. "I just think you should know that you deserve an attentive, loving girlfriend, and she wasn't that. Don't let her hold you back, ever."

Lance sighed. "I'm trying."

"Then I know you'll get there."

They settled down into silence, and Keith noticed Lance picking at the flowers again.

Lance spoke up. "Or I could have a boyfriend, you know."

Keith blinked. "Oh! Yeah, yeah, one of those, too. I'm working towards that too." Lance laughed, and Keith bit down a grin.

Their conversation relaxed into a more casual topic, and the two talked until their mouths were sore. Lance complained about work, Keith talked about his brother's wedding plans, and they argued over which were the best shows on Netflix. 

Lance sighed and leaned more into Keith's shoulder. "You know, this would be a pretty romantic spot for some people," he said flippantly.

Keith's stomach flipped. "Yeah," he breathed.

"The night, the talking, the wildflowers..." Lance continued. Lance's voice dropped to a whisper. "It's too bad New York hides the stars."

Keith looked at Lance and felt his heart pull. The moonlight bounced off the other man's skin. His expression was wide and vulnerable, eyes holding a softness Keith had only glimpsed at, yet yearned for more. Keith wanted to kiss him so badly. He replied softly. "Yeah, too bad."

Keith saw Lance lean in, almost unseeable if he blinked. Lance bit his lip, and Keith took a deep breath. He leaned in, slowly closing his eyes. Lance fluttered his eyes shut, and for a second, he let their lips brush. Feeling bolder, Keith slipped a hand under Lance’s shirt. Then Lance’s eyes snapped open and he pulled away with a soft gasp.

Keith furrowed his brows when Lance's warmth left his side. He opened his eyes and blinked when he saw Lance a foot away. "Lance?"

"I'm sorry," Lance whispered.

"I didn't mind." _I liked it._

Lance shook his head and looked away. "I-I shouldn’t— it's getting late. I should go." Lance hefted himself up.

Keith wanted to scramble after Lance, but confusion and dejectment weighed him down. "You have to go?" he echoed. 

"Yes. Lance was walking towards the fence's broken opening. "I should get ready for the morning. Or the day, really— it's probably 3 AM right now." Lance stepped over the last plank and paused. "I'm sorry." And he left with another word.

Keith watched Lance go. Then he was alone.

***

Keith woke up with splinters in his hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More langst is coming in further chapters, so brace yourself...


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> High School, Junior Year, 2010.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, when I type 2010, Lance sounds so young,,,  
> ꒰⌯´º ꒳ º‧̣̥̇`⌯꒱໊ ᵎᵎᵎ a babey,,
> 
> \----
> 
> I don't know if it was clear by now, but this fic does happen to be a bit Lance-centric! (Probably because Lance is my favorite character, but eh) These next few chapters are flashbacks into Lance's and Nyma's relationship, and how it all went to shit, basically. Obviously, there's a lot more to the story and the reasons to each character (like, a LOT, real chunky essay paragraphs breaking down Nyma's character), but I decided to spare you from the technical stuff. Enjoy! ✩ᏊꈍꈊꈍᏊ

_High School: Junior Year_

Lance was distracted. He was staring at the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen across the gritty high school cafeteria, plastic fork in hand forgotten. He jumped in his seat when a hand waved across his face. 

"Helloooo, Earth to Lance."

Lance scowled at Pidge. The sophomore grinned back cheekily and retracted her arm.

"What's up?"

"Nothing." Lance shoved a fry in his mouth and screwed his face up at the soggy texture. Pidge shook her head and muttered something about how pizza was far superior over the other school foods.

"Uh, didn't look like nothing over there buddy." Hunk took a bite out of his homemade sandwich. "Weren't you looking at Nyma?"

"Nyma?" Lance echoed.

"Yeah. Tall girl, blonde, kinda popular because she's a transfer student?"

Ohh. So that was the girl's name. Lance looked over at Nyma again. She laughed at a joke Lance couldn't hear over the cafeteria's bustling and flipped her hair over her shoulder. Lance sighed dreamily and leaned his face on his palm. "Nyma," he whispered.

Pidge's loud voice broke through his state. "Ewww, you're doing the face again!"

"What!?" Lance sat up straight, ripping his gaze off of Nyma. "What face!?"

Hunk shrugged. "The one where you get all lovey-dovey and gross when you have a crush." He noticed Lance's dejected face and quickly backtracked. "I mean, not actually gross. I actually think it's pretty cute when you use it for the right people."

Pidge piped up. "Yeah, I'm only teasing you because it's my way of being supportive. Go get her!"

Lance clasped his hands. "Aww, thanking Pidgey." He pinched her cheeks.

Pidge patted his hand and laughed. "And if she breaks your heart I'll break her arms."

***

_High School: Senior Year_

"Ask out Nyma! Ask out Nyma!” 

"Guyys—!" Lance's voice cracked on the end with distress and he shoved his friend, who just laughed. "She's gonna hear you!" Lance took out the notebook for his next class from his locker, with Pidge and Hunk huddling near him. Students bustled around the little crew.

Pidge sighed dramatically and shook her head. "Lance, you've had a crush on the girl for a whole year." Hunk nodded in solemn agreement. "If you don't ask her out to the prom, my head is literally gonna explode."

Lance groaned "I told you, she probably has a date already. Also, aren't you going to do a stupid background check or something before telling me to go get someone?"

Pidge shrugged. "Dunno. Never did this for anyone before, and I trust your judgment just enough. Also, the pining is driving me crazy. You can't even admit that you have a crush on her."

"Say you got a crush!" Hunk called and Pidge whooped in agreement. They started chanting again.

"Say it! Say it!"

"W— I DO NOT HAVE A CRUSH ON NYMA!" The crowd in the hallway quieted and head turned towards him. Lance shut his mouth quickly, and his face burned with shame. Stupid. Stupid. He took a shaky breath and turned to go to his next class. Then his eyes met with someone, and he froze. Nyma stood among her group of friends, her eyes wide and her brows furrowed. Lance squeaked out a small "eep!" and ran off in the opposite direction.

***

It was lunchtime when Pidge and Hunk found Lance again. Lance spotted them quickly heading towards him, so he looked back down and curled closer into the bench. It wasn't long until the two reached the table.

"Hey Lance," Hunk said softly. He slid into Lance's right, and Pidge did the same to Lance's left. "We're really sorry about what happened in the hallway." He fiddled with the handle of his lunchbox, a nervous tick. Lance didn't respond. and kept his eyes glued on his tray.

Pidge piped up. "That was super uncool of us. We like to tease you, but we don't like making you uncomfortable. I'm super sorry, Lance." Her apology was halting and less soothing than Hunk's introduction, but Lance appreciated it nonetheless.

"It's okay guys," Lance sighed, and Pidge and Hunk perked to attention. Lance shifted and held his elbows. "It was just really embarrassing. I looked like an idiot in front of her." His heart clenched. "But Nyma probably forgot me already."

Hunk gasped, and he grasped Lance's hand. "Lance! Nothing here was your fault. And yeah, maybe she forgot, but if Nyma didn't? That's okay, because everyone knows you're endearing and kind and a cool person to be around. Nyma would be honored to know you like her." Hunk pulled Lance into a bear hug, drawing a yelp of him. Pidge quickly joined the hug too.

Lance smiled. "Thanks, guys." They let go, with tons of fond responses. The three continued their lunch as usual eating and arguing and cracking jokes. Lance was in the middle of complaining about Mr. Iverson when he heard the telltale sound of high heels. He trailed off when he looked up and his breath hitched. Nyma, in all her glory, was standing in front of the table, leaning on one leg with a hand on her hip.

"You're... the kid who shouted that he didn't have a crush on me." She stated.

"Yeah...?" Lance swung his legs and bit his lip. 

Nyma's gaze raked up and down Lance, and he shifted uncomfortably. Nyma's eyes locked onto his, and Lance gulped. "You..." Nyma's eyes narrowed. Lance, Pidge, and Hunk waited with bated breath. "How do you feel about going to the prom with me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, there will be more klance chapters! Don't fret! ♡  
> \----  
> I live off of kudos and comments!! Anything is appreciated and I love you all! \\(๑˃ヮ˂๑)/ ♡♡


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> High School, Senior Year, 2012.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a disclaimer - when I write Lance and Nyma's relationship, the problem is not that there's a gender role switch - in fact, I encourage people to challenge them! The problem is that there was always a push and pull, a rush to get into the relationship without understanding what the other wanted out of it. This will become clearer in the chapter after this one, and I'll explain more in the end notes of chapter 16.  
> \----  
> I'm doing this on my phone so there might be more typos than usual!

_High School: Senior Year_

Lance adjusted his blue tie for the umpteenth time. He waited at the front of his school doors, searching for Nyma. He checked his phone. She sent a text saying that she was almost there. Lance frowned and put his phone into his back pocket. He really hoped Nyma wasn't playing with him. Pidge had pulled him aside at the end of that fateful lunch, and told him to be careful of Nyma— she said that she just didn't trust a girl who just popped the prom question on a random kid. Past Lance blew it off in his excitement, but now present Lance was worrying that Pidge was right, and Nyma would never actually want anything to do with him—

"Hey."

Lance yelped in surprise and whipped around. Nyam smiled down at him lazily. The girl wore a shimmering blue mermaid's tail dress, the top having an uncountable number of complex straps. She had this strange half-up-half-down hairdo that almost made it look like she had four ponytails, but she made it work. To anyone, she looked amazing, but to Lance, she was like an ethereal being.

"H-hey." Lance stuttered out.

Nyma giggled. "Lance, right? You're so cute." She looked Lance over. "Suit jacket? Cute." Nyma snatched the corsage from Lance's hand and gave it an approving hum. Then she slipped it on and grabbed Lance's hand. "C'mon, cutie pie." 

Lance thought he was in love.

***

Trash pop music and neon lights were filtering out of the gym. Nyma pushed up the door with her free hand, and a burst of sounds flooded out. Nyma yelled something to Lance, but he couldn't hear her. She rolled her eyes and tugged him to the center of the room, where most people were dancing, or really just jumping around. Then she pulled him into her chest and grabbed his other hand. Oh. Dancing. Lance grinned, and Nyma smiled back. He could do that.

The two danced to one song, the two, then four then eight then eight and a half— they stopped to finally grab some food (and on Lance's end, freak out with Hunk and Pidge)— then twelve and then thirteen. By the time Party in the USA rolled around, Nyma and Lance were too wrung out to even mouth out the words.

"Ugh," Nyma grumbled.

Lance groaned in agreement. The two were sprawled out on the floor, next to littered solo cups and mostly empty pretzel bags. Lance had thrown off his suit jacket to cool down, and Nyma had tossed her high heels next to her hip— she claimed that dancing in those shoes was absolute torture. Coming from a large family with many women and girls complaining about the same thing, Lance couldn't argue with that. So Lance let Nyma complain until it wasn't even about high heels anymore. Somewhere along the way, the fingers got tangled up. Lance didn't think this day could get any better. 

"And then Rolo comes up to me with that dumb stoner face and says..." Lance's ears perked up, but it wasn't for Nyma. Above that laughter and chatter of high school students, Lance could hear familiar notes in the air.

Lance gasped. This was one of his favorite songs! He always danced or sung along with it when he heard the melody, no matter what. This was perfect. Lance grasped Nyma's hand excitedly.

"Nyma! This is like, one of my favorite songs, we have to dance for this one— Nyma?"

The girl had rolled her head to look at Lance but did nothing else. Nyma groaned. "I'm sorry Lance, my legs are just— so tired. I don't think I'm capable of dancing."

Lance's face fell. "Oh. Okay."

Nyma furrowed her brows. "Hey, hey...if you tell me the song name we can play it over later and like, I dunno, dance at my place or whatever. Yeah?"

Lance blinked. Then he blushed and smiled shyly. "Uh— yeah. Yeah, that's— good."

Nyma chuckled and flicked Lance's cheek. "Sounds good, cutie pie."

***

_I come close,_

_Let me show you everything I know..._

Lance led Nyma into a small waltz in the warm light of her living room. His heart skipped at the sight of the concentrated yet confident look on her face. She had changed into sweatpants and a tank top, and Lance had taken off his suit jacket and tie.

_Ride my little pooh bear, wanna take a chance,_

_Wanna sip this smooth air, kick it in the sand..._

"Okay, I think I got the hang of this now," Nyma declared, and she abruptly changed their position so she led the dance. Lance grinned like a fool. 

"So, uh, Nyma," Lance started. Nyma's eyes jumped to him. " I wanted to ask you this before, but I guess it slipped my mind." Nyma hummed. Lance took a deep breath. "Why did you ask me out to the prom? I mean, I'm totally for it and love every second of it, and I know I kinda made myself known," he winced at the memory, "but why?"

Nyma laughed softly. "Oh, I don't know. I guess it was kind of sudden of me. But if I like someone, I'm not going to say no, amirite? I know I'm right."

Lance blushed. "Uh, yeah, totally right. And, I like you too."

"Good." Nyma threw Lance into a twirl, then pulled him closer to her chest. The teenagers swayed in place for a while, the music filling in the silence nicely.

_Mind my simple song, this ain't gonna work,_

_Mind my wicked words and tipsy topsy smirk..._

In the dim warm light of Nyma's living room, Lance felt like he was aware of everything around him. From the way the soft rug squished underneath his feet to the way the shadows fell on Nyma's face, and the light bounced off the gloss on her lips. _I want to kiss her._ Lance's heart beat faster at the thought. Nyma smiled at him, and Lance felt a surge of confidence. Lance leaned forward and— Nyma interrupted him. Lance cringed and leaned back. Stupid stupid stupid.

Nyma smiled at Lance again, seemingly unaware of Lance's embarrassment. "Hey. So, I like you a lot, I'm pretty sure you like me a lot—" Lance blushed and nodded. "And we've shared like, a shit-ton of dances together. But I'm bored. Let's do more, you know?"

Lance blinked. Was she really thinking the same thing he was? "Uhm," he said intelligibly. "Like, kissing?"

Nyma tilted her head to the side and lifted a shoulder. "Eh yeah, yeah, I guess." She smirked and untangled her hands to gently let hers wander. They tickled Lance's arms and one came up to cup Lance's cheek. She breathed out. "I was thinking of something a bit... more."

Lance's breath hitched. It was kinda hard to think with Nyma touching him. "You— you mean like going on a date?"

Nyma laughed softly. "I wouldn't be opposed," she whispered, and she drew her face closer to Lance's lips. Lance could distantly hear the music behind the sound of his beating heart, thrumming to the sound of the bass. Her right hand trailed down, down, down to his hip and slipped under his shirt. "I was thinking more like—"

"Woah!" Lance stumbled back and threw out his hands. "Woah. I— I, no. I'm sorry, I can't, I—" He tucked his arms close to his body.

Nyma's smirk wiped off her face. She scowled and flung out her arms. "What the fuck, Lance?"

Lance flinched. His breaths were short and fast. "I'm sorry! I— I don't know! It's just— I don't want to. I can't. I'm not ready for that yet, with anyone." He squeezed his eyes shut. "Nyma, I don't want to do it." He hugged himself tighter.

It was silent for a minute. Then, "Oh." Lance nodded shakily. "I—" She halted and furrowed her eyes. Nyma lowered herself to the rug and patted the space next to her. Slowly, Lance did too. They sat in silence for a minute before Nyma spoke.

"I mean, it's not a big thing, Lance," she started. "I mean," she quickly backtracked, knowing how bad it sounded. "It's not a big thing to me. That you don't want to have sex. Like, _I_ do, but I'm not gonna force you or anything, you know? And I know that I don't know you as much as we’d both prefer, but I do know that from whatever time I've spent with you, I'd love to start calling you my boyfriend." Lance whipped around and gaped. Nyma smiled.

"I— well, yeah! I'd love to be boyfriend and girlfriend, I— thank you?"

Nyma laughed. "'S no problem. Babe." She winked and Lance flushed. Nyma shifted closer to Lance. "So, asexual…?"

"Oh, no." Lance shook his head. "I'm just waiting until it feels like it's right, I guess. Sorry. That sounds cheesy." Lance looked at Nyma. "But if you really need to know, I am bisexual."

Nyma shrugged. "Alright, no problem." She bumped shoulders and winked. "Just don't cheat on me with any hot body, alright?" she joked.

Lance gasped. "Never, Nyma."

Nyma touched Lance's hand and smiled. "Cool. Now!" She clapped her hands. "I'm in the mood to build a blanket fort. You in?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want me to put a specific twigger warning in the beginning notes, please please please tell me!  
> \----  
> The song was Gooey - Glass Animals, which sounds like caramel candy and peanut butter, and gives heavy Nyma vibes. But the song came out in 2014, and this takes place in 2012 so uh,,, artistic license? (๑•́ ₃ •̀๑) Tbh they were probably actually dancing to Breaking Free from High School Musical, which is so dorky of them ♡♡  
> \----  
> I live off of kudos and comments!! Anything is appreciated and I love you all! \\(๑˃ヮ˂๑)/ ♡♡


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> College, Sophomore Year, 2015.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter for the Nyma sections!  
> \----  
> That also means that this chapter is going to be the most intense out of all of them. Stay safe fellas!  
> \----  
> TRIGGER WARNINGS:  
> 1) In the second section (after the first break), Nyma coerces Lance into sex. So while Lance did consent, I would qualify this as dubcon. I can't say that there's a specific sentence where it starts, but you'll know it when you see it.
> 
> 2) Starting at "Hunk was barely able to get another word out before Lance pressed End Call" (fourth section) and ending at the end of the section, Lance has a mini panic attack.

_College: Sophomore Year_

Nyma rolled over to face Lance on the couch. "Hey."

Lance smiled. "Hey."

"I have so many midterms, babe. It's like torture," Nyma whined. Lance listened to his girlfriend do her normal routine of complaining about everything, switching from topic to topic without a beat. Lance loved hearing his girlfriend talk, with the way her lips moved to form each word, almost letter by letter, and the elegant emphases in her speech. She waved her hands around more than she did in high school, Lance noted. Since college, Nyma was different, but he couldn't put his finger on what. She was a shifting individual, changing in personalities, preferences, and habits. He tuned her out after five minutes, content to just stare at her face and nod along. After a while, Nyma stopped and glared. "Lance, you're not even listening!"

Lance blinked. "Oh! Sorry babe, I zoned out for a sec." 

Nyma rolled her eyes but continued. "I was just talking about how shitty it is that I live in an ugly dorm. Like, the walls are way too thin, I have to share bathrooms, the mattress is kinda weird, and it just sucks, you know?”

Lance looked around as if he hasn't seen the place countless times. "It seems fine."

Nyma scoffed. "It only looks nice because I fixed it up a bit."

Lance hummed. He's been to his other friends' dorms— they looked the same way. "If it's really bothering you, you can live with me."

Nyma shot up. "Really? An apartment? Just for me?" She grinned.

Lance faltered. Oh. "Oh, I— I kinda just meant live with me in my mom's house—"

Nyma slumped back down on Lance's chest. "Right. You still live with your family."

"Hey, I'm working to get my own house—!"

"Babe, you're too soft," Nyma sighed. She flipped herself upside down on the couch, head hanging off of the cushions. "You're probably just saving for your fish pond, or whatever." Nyma rolled her eyes.

Lance scrambled off the couch to kneel in front of Nyma's face. "Hey, hey, if you really want to, we can buy an apartment together."

Nyma rolled her eyes. "Whatever. It's not like I have the money or anything."

"That's okay! We can split it 70-30," Lance tried.

Nyma scrunched up her nose.

"75-25?"

"...Alright."

Lance breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright. Alright! You won't regret it, sweetheart, I promise— I'll find the best apartment out here." He kissed her forehead, and she giggled.

"If you say so, cutie pie." Nyma flipped over onto her stomach and squished Lance's cheeks. "You're a cutie pie, you know that?"

Lance blushed and averted his eyes. "Okay."

***

Lance dropped the last moving box into their new apartment and huffed. He grinned wide as he wiped the sweat off his brow. The walls of the living room were a bare beige, but Lance was planning on fixing that soon. They didn't really have enough money to paint over the walls just yet, but he could buy some new curtains, fill the shelves with books, could probably splurge on a little hardy plant, and maybe Nyma would let him hang up some of her paintings. Lance grinned in giddiness.

He jumped when a lithe arm snaked around his waist, but smiled when Nyma dropped her chin on his shoulder. "Hey," she mumbled raspily.

"Hey." Lance turned his head for a quick kiss, although it was a bit uncomfortable. Nyma hummed and she turned her head away. "How do you like the new place?"

Nyma made a soft nose from the back of her throat. "It's pretty," she said, drawing out the "e". Lance knew she didn't look around long enough to check. She detached from Lance and flopped down on the couch. Nyma made a "come hither" motion at Lance with her finger. "C'mon, we've done enough, let's make out."

Lance raised his eyebrows. "Oh. Uh, I was actually gonna, move, some more stuff," he said lamely, jerkily gesturing at the boxes.

Nyma raised her eyebrows right back. "You're right, the couch is kinda lame, wanna test out the mattress instead?" she said pointedly and wiggled her eyebrows.

Lance sighed. "But I..." He caught sight of Nyma's eyes again and bit his lip. "I guess it can wait."

Nama's face lit up in a smile, and Lance's heart fluttered. He let Nyma drag him upstairs, push her lips on his, hike up his top. It suddenly felt too hot, so Lance tugged off his shirt. Nyma's lips pulled into a smirk. She tugged him to the bed by his belt loops. Lance tipped and fell onto the mattress with a soft thump.

"Wait!" Lance pulled away from Nyma's grasping arms with a gasp. "We need a condom."

Nyma groaned. "Lance, seriously?"

"It's important," he protested. He started to move off the bed. "I know they're in one of these boxes—" He yelped when Nyma pulled him back to the bed with a harsh tug.

"Forget about the condom," Nyma hissed. She threw a leg over his hip so she was straddling him. "We've _done_ this before, stop whining."

"I know but if something—" His breath hitched when Nyma sucked at the hollow of his collarbones. He got pulled back by Nyma's tugging and mumbles of "Off, off off off," and he wiggled out of his jeans.

Nyma shushed him and put a finger to his lips. Then she lifted it again to remove her bra. "Hush, cutie." Lance took his own hands from above his head to help her. "It's only once." She tossed the bra off into a dark corner of the room. Lance mesmerizedly watched her golden hair cascade at every movement. It shifted again when Nyma reached to cup Lance's face. She leaned down to whisper into Lance's ear. "C'mon, just take it and like it."

Nyma's thumb brushed against Lance's eyelashes when he blinked. There was the heavy weight of her hips on his lap and crotch, and the feathery light touch of her hair by his temple. Her other hand traced lazy circles up and down his body, and Lance shuddered and squeezed his eyes shut. Nyma was too close, so close that Lance was aware of how he was hers, and he would never not be hers. Nyma's honey-colored hair rested on Lance's neck, and Lance felt like a fly stuck in a sweet trap. But it was only a fleeting thought. Lance looked up at Nyma and smiled softly. "Alright."

Nyma looked pleased. "See? That wasn't so hard. You know I'd never hurt you."

***

A bed of wrinkled sheets and twenty-five minutes later, Lance and Nyma lied down on the bed with huffed breaths. Lance rolled over to face Nyma with a soft smile. She grinned back. "Whatcha staring at, cutie?"

"Nothing. I just think you look beautiful."

"Aww." Nyma shifted and grimaced. "Ugh, I feel gross." She stepped out of the bed. Nyma started walking to the connected bathroom, picking up her clothes along the way. "I'm gonna take a shower."

"Alright."

Nyma paused and looked over her shoulder. She smirked. "You wanna... join me?"

Lance blinked. "Oh, nah, I'll just go after you." He rolled over in bed.

Nyma wrinkled her nose. "Alright. Whatever." She walked off.

"I still think you're beautiful!"

The door shut.

***

_College: Sophomore Year_

Lance was alone in the apartment when his phone buzzed. Lance glanced over and grinned when he recognized the face on the screen. He quickly paused the Netflix show he was watching, then accepted the call.

"Hey, Hunk, what's up!"

Hunk's voice crackled through the phone's speaker. "Lance! Oh man, I didn't even know if I would reach you."

Lance laughed. "Whaddya mean by that? You know I'm always free for you." Lance's eyes flicked around the apartment. He should clean the place up. Lance put the phone on speaker and set it on the kitchen table.

Hunk scoffed on the other side of the line. "Right buddy. You declined my last like, five calls!"

Lance whipped around to stare at his phone in shock. "What? No way Hunk." He plucked out a disinfectant wipe and moved to the counter. "I would never miss a chance to talk to you."

Hunk made a skeptical noise. 

"Whatever man. Must be a different guy you're thinking of." Lance threw out the wipe and started to rearrange the shaves. "Anyways, there's a reason why you called?"

"Oh, not really much. Just wanted to know how you've been doing. It's been a while."

Lance smiled. "Thanks for thinking of me." Lance place the wipes on a shelf. "I'm doing alright. Still have a shitton of homework." He paused. "I uh, I moved in with Nyma."

"Woah, really! I'm still staying at my moms'."

Lance laughed. "Yeah! I was planning on doing that until I saved up enough for a decent house, but Nyma got antsy, so we put in some money for an apartment lease. Or I put in. I don't know. We're kinda doing a 75-25 split right now."

A heavy pause. "That sounds like a horrible deal."

Lance frowned and glanced at his phone. "I know, but she said it'll be fine. I'm guessing that she means that she'll start paying more in a couple of months." Lance scowled, but his expression softened quickly. "Besides, it's worth it. I'm learning so much more about her! Once I asked her if she would mind having a succulent in the house, and apparently, she's allergic to plants!" Lance laughed. "How cute is that!"

There was a longer pause. Then Hunk's voice crackled through the speaker. "Lance I think she just didn't want plants."

Lance frowned. "What the hell, Hunk? Why would you say that?"

"I— I don't know! I'm just saying—" Lance imagined Hunk with raised shoulders, hands up defensively. "I just sayin' that nobody can just be allergic to all plants." 

Lance decided not to answer. 

Hunk sighed. "Look, man, I— Pidge and I have been talking, and we both noticed that you don't hang around anymore. And I dunno if that's a personal choice or not but— Pidge told her that the last time she called you, Nyma picked it up and and kinda passive-aggressively telling her to stop calling you. By the way, Pidge was serious about the whole _breaking Nyma’s arms_ thing. Also, I don't have a girlfriend or anything but, that seems kinda weird, right? The phone thing, not Pidge."

Lance gritted his teeth— he'd had enough. He swung around and stalked towards the phone. "Stop it. That's not true."

"The phone thing? Listen, I'm not trying to hurt your girlfriend, I just—"

"Shut up! You wanted this!" Lance shouted and jabbed a finger at the inanimate object. "You and Pidge egged me to go date her. And now you're against it?!" Lance felt tears pricking, and he angrily swiped them away. "I don't understand. Nyma's great."

"Lance we didn't know she would act like this, we—"

"No. No. screw you, Hunk. Nyma's perfect and we're fine, and I'm— I'm feeling fine," Lance gulped and felt the scratchiness slide down his throat. "I know Nyma, and I know she would never do that. You're really fucking me up here, Hunk." His voice cracked, and he hated it. He swiped at his nose angrily. "I'm— I'm gonna hang up now."

Hunk was barely able to get another word out before Lance pressed End Call. Lance heaved a sigh and dropped his phone on the table. He slid against a wall and scrubbed at his eyelids with the palms of his hands. Nyma would never do that. Right? Right. She would never. The silence of the kitchen rang in his eyes. He needed to talk to Nyma. Where was she?

Lance sat on the cold kitchen tiles for what felt like hours. He spent his time repeating three thoughts. _Nyma would never do that. She's perfect. We're fine._ Lance scratched at the tile and glanced at the little portable kitty clock on the counter. 10:49. Shouldn't Nyma be home? _She'd never do that. She's perfect. We're fine._ The little kitty clock didn't make any noise, no ticks or ticks to fill up the silence. Lance felt like it should. He glanced at it again. Oh. 10:50. A thought struck him. Didn't he have homework to finish? _She'd never do that. She's perfect. We're fine._ He had a thesis due in two days. There was a test for AP Bio, and probably a quiz for Literature Studies. Lance felt sick to the stomach, and he didn't know why. And God, he felt so alone. Where is Nyma? Lance dropped his head to his knees and held back a whimper. _She'd never do that. She's perfect. We're fine._

***

Lance heard the door open at 12:44 AM. 

His head jerked up from the noise, but he didn't try to stand up.

The door shut, and Lance heard the loud shuffling of steps of someone trying too hard to be quiet. So Nyma was buzzed then. Lance started to pick himself up when he heard more. Two pairs of whispers, giggling. Lance's sleepy brain half-heartedly tried to come up with a conclusion. A friend? Lance shuffled into the living room. And froze. 

Nyma and some frat boy were sneaking around in the living room. The boy whispered something into Nyma's ear, and she giggled. Lance saw a hand sneaking around her waist, but he couldn't digest it.

"Nyma?" Lance said softly.

Nyma and the boy's bodies tensed. Nyma whipped around to look in Lance's direction. "Oh hey," she tried for a stiff smile. "Lance."

Lance's eyes furrowed. "What—"

"Hey, hey, who is this dude?" Lance cringed. The frat boy's voice was too loud and obnoxious for this hour.

Nyma shushed him and placed a hand on the guy's upper arm to lean into him. "Hey, shh, it's fine, he's just like, I don't know... my uh, my roommate, or whatever." She mumbled the last part almost guiltily.

Lance felt blood rushing to his ears. "Wait, what the hell?"

"Hey!" The other boy squared his shoulders. "Back off, man."

"No! No, I won't back off!" Lance knew he sound frantic, but he didn't care. "I want to know what the hell is going on!"

"Hey, dude, it's not like that," Frat Boy defended. "I was just walking her to her room. It's like basic manners."

"You were... escorting her. To her room," Lance repeated flatly. "Get out of my apartment."

Frat Boy scowled. "Whatever man, no need to be a dickhead." He stormed to the exit. He hissed to Nyma on this way out. "Your roommate is such an ass."

Nyma and Lance watched the door close. An awkward silence settled. Nyma exhaled. "So—"

Lance rubbed his face. "What the hell, Nyma?"

Nyma pulled a face. "What do you mean, 'what the hell'?"

Lance stepped back. "He was obviously hitting on you!"

"So?"

"You should've— I don't know— said something? And what was that about me being your roommate?"

Nyma gritted her teeth. "I had it under control."

"I'm your boyfriend!" Lance cried. "I should have some say in this!"

Nyma sneered. "Whatever, _boyfriend_." She spat the word like an insult, and it was like a slap to the face. Nyma slumped. "I'm going to bed," she slurred. Right, drunk. Lance helped her gather her shoes and socks, before Nyma fell onto their bed.

Lanc crawled into bed. There was a tense silence. Nyma fluffed up the duvet and still didn't face Lance. "How long," Lance said.

Nyma clutched the sheets. Lance watched the muscles under her back move. "...It was just once," she responded miserably. “We only made out.”

Lance sighed. The silence continued.

"I'm sorry." He tried.

Nyma didn't respond.

A couple of minutes went by.

"You know," Lance spoke up again. "Hunk told me that you were declining his calls from my phone." Nyma's fists clenched. "I know you would never do that, Nyma," he said quietly. Nyma sighed. 

Lance reached for one of Nyma's hands, and felt horribly relieved when she didn't pull away. Lance clasped their hands gently as they lied down in silence. _She'd never do that. She's perfect. We're fine._ After a minute, Lance unclasped their hands. "Why did you do it?" he whispered.

There was a silence so long, Lance thought Nyma fell asleep. But then she spoke up. "I don't know, Lance. It's just... sometimes, you're just so clingy, and it's annoying, but then I realize you're just always like that, even though I thought we had something special. Then I want you, and it's like you pull away. And I know I said I wouldn't push you, senior year," Nyma's voice went softer at the memory. "But now, I don't know if I can keep that promise. I think I broke it already. Usually, I can click with anybody. But with you, it's like... I want to, but we're just not clicking. It's frustrating, you know? How you're... like that. I don't think we'll ever change."

Lance stared at Nyma's hair and felt tears pricking at the back of his eyes. "...Oh." His voice was smaller than he wanted it to be. "That's... I didn't know you felt that way." Nyma didn't respond. Lance heaved a silent sigh and rolled onto his back. He didn't fall asleep until the morning.

***

A few weeks later, the apartment was still tense and quiet.

***

A few months later, Lance bought light pink baby shoes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course, there's a lot more to the story that could be told from outside of Lance's perspective - I gave hints about Nyma being an increasingly insecure character, and how that affected her choices, but I have SO. MUCH. To share about her. Obviously, this doesn't redeem her character nor excuse her choices/what she did to Lance, but she's a controlled wildcard that brings out so many ideas. If you want me to tell you more, especially about Nyma, I'll be more than happy to tell you in tbe comments (seriously, I'm buzzing to tell, but I don't want to bore your heads off!)! But for the storyline of Lance and Nyma, this is the end. Back to Keith!  
> \----  
> I live off of kudos and comments!! Anything is appreciated and I love you all! \\(๑˃ヮ˂๑)/ ♡♡


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance are very very aware of their own crushes, yet very very very obvious of the others' feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is literally,,, PACKED with fluff and pining klance, it's a bit of a whiplash. Originally I thought that was bad and was gonna delete this chapter, but I decided last minute that you can never have too much fluff!   
> ᏊꈍꈊꈍᏊ

From his bed, Keith picked at his splinters halfheartedly.

He heard Adam's clinking and bustling from the kitchen, but made no move to get up. Keith remembered glimpses of last night (or this early morning), and he dwelled and clung on the scenes, as if afraid he would forget them. Keith hid under the covers. He thought of Lance's blue eyes, and the soft crack of the other man's voice when he talked about Nyma. Keith sighed and rubbed his eyes. This wasn't healthy for him.

Keith flung the sheets off and stumbled to the bathroom. _Why had Lance pulled away when I kissed him?_ Keith brushed his teeth in a set matter. _Maybe I've been reading this wrong the whole time, and Lance doesn't even like me. Oh god, was I coming onto him?_ Keith splashed his face with water. "I'm an idiot," he groaned.

Keith sulked downstairs into the kitchen. "Morning," Adam greeted, and Keith grunted. Adam slid over a plate of french toast and egg, and Keith said a quick 'thanks' before gorging it down.

_Maybe I should text Lance about it_ , Keith mused. His eyes flickered to his phone beside him on the table. Keith heaved a sigh and rubbed his eyes. But if Keith weirded him out before, he definitely wouldn't want to see Keith now. _I need to get out and think of something else._

Keith stood up from the table. "I'm taking a walk," he announced and stalked towards the door.

"Alright, but you're still in your pajamas!"

Keith paused. It's only a walk around the block, right? A tank top and sweatpants wouldn't be that bad. "It'll be fine."

***

Keith had only walked halfway around his block when he ran into Lance. 

Lance was jogging in a light blue tank top and tight high waist sweatpants. He did a double take when he saw Keith, and Keith wanted to sink into the ground. Oh no. Shiro's voice rang in his head, scolding, _this is why you should always dress up when you go out, idiot!_

"Woah, Keith?" Lance puffed with a loose smile. He face was flushed from the exertion of running. He tugged his headphones out of his ears. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh," Keith stuttered. Keith wanted to die. Lance looked so good and Keith was wearing pajamas. "Uh, um. What are _you_ doing here?"

Lance averted his eyes. Good, then he couldn't see Keith's internal dilemma. "Well, whenever I don't have early work shifts, I like to run a bit, after dropping Sofia off. Keeps my mind off things."

"Oh, really!" Keith nodded exaggeratedly. Ugh, he was embarrassing himself so much. "I was out here... keeping my mind off things too..." Keith broke. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Ugh, I'm sorry, this is so embarrassing. I can't believe you caught me in my fucking pajamas."

Lance shrugged. "S'alright! I'm basically wearing the same outfit." Keith rose an unconvinced eyebrow. "You know, tank top, sweatpants, it's all the same."

Keith laughed, looked down at his worn gray sweatpants versus the pants that made Lance's legs look infinitely longer. "Yeah, if you say so." Lance nodded, suddenly quiet. His eyes seemed trained on something on Keith. Keith's eyebrows furrowed. "Lance?"

Lance jerked up. "Huh? Oh yeah. It's just, uh, your arms look really good in a tank top."

Keith blanked and laughed awkwardly. "Oh, thanks. Your legs, look good, as well." His face burned after saying that.

Lance nodded. "Cool, cool cool cool," he breathed. "Well, I better continue my run."

"Yeah, I should... walk back home."

Lance laughed awkwardly and nodded. Keith gave a tiny wave and sprinted off.

And they both awkwardly went off on their way. 

***

Lance tried to ignore his feelings.

He really did! But he still finds himself thinking about Keith's smirk, and his dark eyes, and his smile—

Lance patted his cheeks rapidly, and he felt his cheeks burn. This pining has gotten out of hand, he thought grumpily. He's been thinking of Keith ever since they sat in the blue fenced lot. And no doubt his friends noticed. Hunk prodded him again over a visit, and his mamá sounded suspicious over his wellbeing over her phone checkup. Sofia probably noticed too, after Lance accidentally made french toast for dinner.

Lance ran into Keith about a week ago. He winced when he remembered it. Lance was probably all sweaty from his run, and objectively, Keith probably didn't look that good either, but Lance's stupid lovesick mind couldn't do anything but think Keith was hot. Lance probably looked like a stuttering mess out there. And that slip up about his arms! Lance inhaled sharply just thinking about it. _Keith looked so offput when I said that_ , Lance thought miserably. _He obviously doesn't like me back._ And what if he did? What if it was good, and Lance felt so complete, and after a year, Keith realizes they never worked out in the first place? What if Lance was still “like that”, and what if he’ll never change?

“No, those are stupid throughts,” Lance berated himself. But a part of him still questioned.

Needless to say, that brought his mood down for two weeks.

But it was all going to be okay! As long as Lance just stayed away from thinking about Keith, and avoided him, and maybe say sorry for kissing him... Lance sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. He felt too old for this drama.

"Sofia! It's time for lunch!" Lance called. He set the table as Sofa ran to the living room. She sat a stuffed animal next to her plate and started eating. Lance let Sofia talk about her day at school, only commenting with hums and nods. After a few minutes, Sofia changes the topic.

"Papi, when is Keith coming over again?"

Lance looked up. "Oh yeah, it has been a while." 

"When will he come again?" Sofia pressed.

Lanced rubbed the back of his neck, a persistent frown on his face. "I don't know," he said quietly. "He hasn't said much recently." His heart clenched at Lance tried not to think of why. _He hates me, he hates me, he hates me._

Sofia picked at her food, frowning at the grapes. "I miss him," she said quietly.

Lance's heart broke. Sofia shouldn't have to break off ties with Keith just because of his own stupid mistake. And even if Keith didn't want to see him, no one could hate Sofia. Lance fiddled with his fork for a bit before coming to a decision. "Sofia, I'm going to ask Keith right after lunch, and see if we can meet with him this weekend," Lance said determinedly. The bright smile Sofia gave him washed away any regrets Lance might've had. "So finish your plate quick!" Sofia shoveled her face with her lunch and only slowed down a little after a laugh of "Oh don't choke yourself!" Lance wouldn't admit, but maybe he sped up a little too.

When Lance was done, he put the plates in the sink and pulled out his phone while Sofia jumped around him excitedly. Lance took a deep breath, then clicked on Keith's number and put it on speaker.

The phone rung a few times before Keith answered. "Hello?"

Lance only got out a shy "hey—" before Sofa burst. "Lemme talk lemme talk!" Lance bit down a smile and moved out of the way.

Sofia reached up and grasped the phone. "Keith! I missed you!"

Lance could hear Keith's soft smile through the phone. "I missed you too, Sofia."

"Um, so my Papi said that we could play together soon. Do you want to play?"

"I would like that. I can probably make room on my schedule on Saturday, does that work?" The last sentence seemed to be directed at Lance, but Sofia nodded eagerly before saying 'yes!' "Okay, I'll work out the rest of the details with your Papi."

"Thank you, Keith!" Sofia grinned. She put the phone down and rested her head on her arms on the counter. "Um, I missed you a lot." Lance could tell that she was rambling now, not really knowing what to say. He'd let her have a few more seconds. Lance heard Keith hum an affirmative on the other side of the phone. "I think Papi missed you too—"

Lance loudly coughed, a fiery blush on his cheeks. He plucked the phone out of Sofia reach, ignoring her speak of surprise. "Okay, I think we spoke to Keith enough today!" He sounded a bit more than frazzled. Lance didn't leave the room, but he turned his back to Sofia and pressed the phone off speaker. 

Keith's chuckle came through the phone. "But you did miss me, right?"

Lance huffed. "...Maybe I did. A little," he said quietly.

"I guess I missed you too."

Lance’s heart fluttered, but he told himself to press it down. Instead, he bit down a smile, said bye to Keith and hung up. When he turned back around to Sofia, he was still smiling. 

Sofia scrunched up her face. "Why do you look like that?"

Lance's smile dropped in confusion. "Look like what?"

"Your face looked like this!" Sofia gave the best dopey eyed expression a six-year-old could give, head tilted, hands clasped and all. Lance's face burned.

"Oh stop that, you!" Lance play tackled Sofia and she shrieked in laughter.

But afterwards, Lance felt lighter than he did in weeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh I feel like I ended it abruptly but Sofia is literally so cute I love her ♡♡  
> \----  
> I live off of kudos and comments!! Anything is appreciated and I love you all! \\(๑˃ヮ˂๑)/ ♡♡


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance finally talk, like mature adults.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SHIT UM, I'm so sorry for just disappearing like that!!! At first I was editing this chapter, then I got distracted, and then that repeated for like two weeks,, it really shouldn't have taken so long!!  
> (੭ ˃̣̣̥ ω˂̣̣̥)੭ु⁾⁾ Anyways, I hope this chapter makes up for it, I'm still kinda uncertain about it but it's a nice one regardless. (Please, let this chapter not suck, _please_ , let this chapter not suck,,,)

Keith was stuck between two shirts.

Adam watched from Keith's bed, exasperated as his fiance's brother struggled to choose between a blue-gray button-down and a simple graphic tee. Next to him, Shiro ate a bowl of Adam's paella.

"I don't understand what the problem is," Adam called. "Just choose the shirt I chose for you.” 

Keith's eyes uncertainly flickered to the shirt Adam chose. "Okay, but _listen._ What if he ends up wearing something nice and I'm underdressed?"

Adam scoffed. "That would never happen—"

"Objection," Shiro interrupted from Adam's side. "That happened to me on our twenty-third date."

Adam stared at his fiance with a lovestruck expression. "...You've been counting our dates—?"

"Guys, please stop flirting," Keith groaned. "I have to go to Lance's place in five minutes."

"Right." Adam turned to Keith. "Why don't you just wear what I gave you?"

"I don't know, I feel like I should wear something more formal? Or does Lance expect to wear something casual? I— I don't know what I want. I don't know what _he_ wants." Keith sighed and lowered to the two shirts.

Adam frowned. "Keith, I haven't seen you stress so much over Lance since the first time you guys hung out. What's up?"

Keith rubbed his cheek and flopped down on his bed. "Ugh, I don't know. It's just been so long since the first time we planned to meet up. And we ended last time... strangely." That was an understatement. "I want to make sure this time isn't awkward like it was that time after."

"Keith, let me help you!" Adam clasped his hands. "I don't even have to choose your whole outfit, just let me tell you what I think."

"Hey, Keith?" Shiro called. Keith's eyes flickered to him miserably. "You can wear whatever you feel comfortable with. I'm sure Lance likes you no matter what."

Adam hummed in hesitant disagreement. "Well—" He stopped when Shiro helped out a spoonful of his paella. Adam huffed and grudgingly took a bite. "...Well, I guess that worked out for you, Takashi," he said grumpily. Keith took that as his cue to start dressing.

Keith started at his dresser, then picked his usual outfit— black jeans and a black shirt. He turned around and gave a half-hearted ta-da pose.

The two looked at him disappointedly. "Okay, I know I just said to be yourself, but at least add something else!" Shiro said incredulously.

Keith grumbled then rooted through his dresser. He stopped when he found something with a pop of color. He tugged out a dark bomber jacket, littered with design patches and pins. "Better?"

The two were quiet for a second, and Keith feared that he actually looked stupid with it on. Then Adam sighed dejectedly. "Yeah, you know what, that's actually pretty good."

***

Lance paced around frantically. This was just a normal playdate, meeting at dinner. He shouldn't be worrying!

Lance looked down and worried about the hem of his sweater. He was going to wear a dress shirt, but Sofia yanked on the side after she played in a park, effectively dirtying it. Besides, he would've persuaded himself out of it even without Sofia's meddling. Either way, he now wore an oversized white sweater with a print of a Van Gough’s sunflowers on the front, with cuffed brownish-orange pants to match. It wasn't a bad outfit, but was it too casual? Lance gnawed on his fingernails. "This isn't even a date, Lance!" 

The doorbell rang, and he jumped.

Lance rushed to the door as he heard Sofia running into the living room. He took a deep breath. Lance opened the door to see Keith with a small smile and a container in his hands.

"Hi," Keith said.

"Hey," Lance breathed. "Uhm, cute jacket."

"Thanks. Your sweater’s cute too." Keith thrust the container towards him. "Uh, my brother's fiance made paella."

"Oh? That's great." Lance stepped aside so Keith could come in. "I'm actually gonna make ramen in a sec, the pot's boiling."

Sofia ran into the room and gasped. "Keith!!” She jumped and Keith caught her with a yelp. Sofia hugged his neck. "I missed you."

Keith smiled and patted her back. "I missed you too, Sofia."

The three walked into the kitchen, Sofia piggybacking Keith and babbling about what she and Lance did when Keith was gone. Lance set the paella down and started putting the ramen noodles into the boiling pot when Keith interrupted. "Do you want me to help?"

Lance glanced at Keith. "Oh, yes that would be great." Sofia slid off Keith's back, saying that she wanted to help too. "There's some hot peppers in a bowl, and bok choy and mushrooms in the fridge. Could you cut those up? Not too many peppers though, Sofia likes it mild." Keith nodded, and Sofia started to follow him. "Oh, not you, cariño! Knives are for the big kids. You can help me with the noodles though, as long as you don't get too close to the pot."

They worked on the ramen, Keith's even chopping mixed with the sound of Sofia and Lance talking, and the quiet music Lance turned on. Lance felt himself relaxing. _Maybe I didn't make a mistake in the lot,_ Lance thought, as Keith handed him a bowl of chopped vegetables. He could get used to this domestic feeling, as long as Keith felt the same. After a few minutes, Lance added in beef and eggs.

"Woah, this actually smells really good." Keith leaned over Lance's shoulder, and Lance stiffened in surprise.

"Are you saying I don't cook well?" Lance teased to hide his nervousness.

Keith moved away, and Lance felt both relieved and disappointed. "I'm not saying anything."

Keith warmed up the paella as Lance pulled the soup into bowls. They set up the table and began eating.

"Oh my gosh, this paella is so good," Lance gasped. "I can't believe your brother gets to eat something like this every day."

"Says you," Keith said. "This ramen is amazing." Lance rolled his eyes, protesting that everyone helped. 

Sofia stayed quiet, stuffing her face with both bowls.

They chatted for a few more hours until Sofia had to go to bed. Lance quickly tucked her in and smiled when she sleepily mumbled, "Thank you for coming, Keith." Lance walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen.

Keth was washing dishes, softly mumbling along to the old radio. Without Sofia around, Lance felt the wave of longing affection even stronger. He dropped the tension in his shoulders and sighed. He wanted so bad to wrap his arms around Keith's waist and sing the rest of the lyrics with him. But they didn't have anything, did they? Lance shouldn't have kissed him.

Keith turned when he heard Lance sigh. He smiled and took off the gloves. "Hey."

Lance smiled and leaned on the counter. "Hey," he whispered. 

Keith squinted when he saw how uncertain and hesitant Lance's smile was. "I haven't seen you in a while. How have you been doing?"

Lance scratched the back of his neck. "It's been a few weeks, huh? I haven't done much. Just kinda, like, laid back since..." Lance bit his lip. "Since we talked in the lot."

Keith frowned. “Well, not just talk.”

Lance's heart seized up. “Noo, not just.” 

“...We kissed.”

“Yes, we did.”

They stood in awkward silence before Keith burst. “What, do you not like me? Because if not, you can just tell me, I know you kinda told me to back off—”

“ _No,_ it’s not that! I—” Lance locked eyes with Keith. “I don’t know. I got overwhelmed at the moment, and I’m still processing, you know? I—I think I like you a lot. But my mind is just… not catching up, you know?” His voice cracked and he gritted his teeth. “Like, it’s so fucking paranoid over stuff I know aren’t true, but I can’t help it. It’s always saying _oh, what if he doesn’t like me back,_ which I’m pretty sure is untrue because you _kissed_ me, or _what if it’ll end up just like Nyma,_ which is also probably untrue because you guys are so different, or _maybe you’re the reason why none of this works out,_ which is—is, well, I don’t know! My mind’s just totally dumb.”

Keith fell quiet for a moment. “Lance, I can tell you that none of those things are true.” 

Lance ran a hand through his head and sighed. “I know a few of them aren’t, but maybe a few are right, I don’t know.”

“No, all of them aren’t true! Look, for one,” Keith coughed and he blushed, “I definitely like you. No doubt about that point. And two,” Keith’s eyes softened. “Lance, Nyma will only be an outlier in your relationships. I can’t promise that people will never break up with you. I can’t promise that Nyma will ever be rid of your mind. But I can promise that I will never hurt you as she did. And even if you decide to date someone else, I bet they’ll treat you just as right.”

Lance stared into Keith’s eyes. “What if I date someone and the thoughts still stay?”

Keith shrugged. “Healing takes a long time, I wouldn’t blame you if they’re still there.”

“Well, what if my doubts make the person not want to date me?”

Keith answered easily. “Then they don’t deserve you. If they’re not willing to try as much as you are, they’re not worth it.”

“What if… I don’t _want_ to date somebody?” Lance was just messing around at this point—he already knew he wanted someone in particular. Keith almost rolled his eyes and Lance held back a grin.

“Then don’t date.” Keith’s mouth twitched up into a smile. “No one’s forcing you.”

Lance scrunched up his nose. “...You’re making it really hard for me to not want to date you.” 

“So date me.”

Lance beamed. Without another word, he slipped his hands out of Keith’s grasp and yanked Keith's face forward. Before Keith's could even react, he felt the press of Lance's warm lips sliding against his. Slowly, Keith started to relax, hands moving to press on Lance's hips.

Keith and Lance separated to gasp for air. Lance bit his lip. "You promise that you don’t mind my worrying mind?”

Keith clasped Lance’s hands, and Lance’s finally looked at him with awe-filled eyes. Keith looked Lance straight in the eye. “Lance, you are the most caring, thoughtful, loving, brilliant person I know. I've never met a person more complex than you, and I admire everything you've gone through. And every time you smile, talk, move your hands, I fall more and more in love with you. Lance, I would tell you every day that you are loved, if you needed me to. Hell, I’ll do it even if you didn’t ask."

Lance’s hands gently pressed on the sides of his faces and brought Keith into another kiss. Keith could taste the taste of salt on Lance's lips. Was he crying? “Sorry about that. I’m just emotional,” Lance mumbled.

Keith grinned. He wiped away a few of Lance's tears with his thumb and leaned in for another kiss. And another. And another. Lance laughed, and soon, they were smiling too much to even kiss.

Lance leaned into Keith's neck and sniffed wetly. "You didn’t have to make up a whole speech for me to like you back. I already felt the same way.”

Keith smiled. “I know I didn’t have to. But I wanted you to know.”

Lance smiled back. “Thank you."

Keith thought, _yo_ _u don't need to thank me for anything_. And he said so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And _scene_. The last chapter is an epilogue, and purely fluff. Probably too much fluff, but is that even a thing?
> 
> By the way, Lance's outfit is actually entirely based off of my own clothing, so yeah, I project on him a lot, whoops (´ฅω•ฅ｀)
> 
> I live off of kudos and comments!! Anything is appreciated and I love you all! \\(๑˃ヮ˂๑)/ ♡♡
> 
> HMU → Art Instagram: @ramenbroodle


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, can you believe that this story is finally ending! I wrote this fic in about a year, then edited it as I was publishing it out to you guys, which took about a month,,, ꒰⌯´º ꒳ º‧̣̥̇`⌯꒱໊ ᵎᵎᵎ This story is basically my _baby_ now, I've never written anything this large before, or spent so much time on one fic. But anyways, enjoy! ฅ(⌯͒•ꈊ͒ू •⌯͒)

Lance Emilio Alejandro-Charles McClain was a man with a beautiful six-year-old girl, and a beautiful little blue Fiat. 

"I still think we should've taken my car."

And now, a beautiful loving boyfriend.

Lance rolled his eyes. "I can't part with my car so quickly, Keith. Besides, I haven't gotten used to your car yet." He spotted an open spot in the parking lot and quickly pulled in.

Keith hardly waited for the car to stop before opening the door. 

Lance laughed. "You're so eager!"

"I don't want to miss it," Keith protested.

Lance grinned and got out of the car. "We have plenty of time." He went around to Keith's side and gently clasped Keith's hands. "Wait, slow down a sec." He smiled at Keith. "I just— just think about it. Can you believe that almost a _year_ ago, this was the place we first met?"

Keith's face softened. He hummed. "I really can't. When I saw you yelling at me, I never thought that we would be boyfriends like half a year later."

Lance laughed and wound his arms around Keith's neck, and Keith rested his hands on Lance's hips. "I would still yell if you took my parking spot."

"I don't doubt it."

Lance sighed. "I never thought I could ever find someone as loving as you."

"Babe, I have no doubt you could find love anywhere. But I'm so glad you chose me." They kissed sweetly, and Keith could feel Lance's smile against his own lips.

They pulled away with a soft smack. "Alright, now we can go. Don't want to be late," Lance said teasingly, and Keith huffed. They walked hand in hand to the preschool.

***

Coran looked up when the two entered the lobby. "Ah, Keith and Lance! They're all in the backyard." He gestured to the back of the building and Lance thanked him before pulling Keith to the yard. Lance closed the screen door and grinned at the sight before him. All the kindergarteners in Sofia's class were running around in tacky little graduation robes and caps. The chairs were set up, as well as tables with snacks and refreshments. Lance spotted Allura desperately trying to herd the students into neat lines. Suddenly, there was a blur of motion, and Lance almost keeled over when it clutched at his waist.

"Papi!" Sofia screamed in excitement. Her cheeks were flushed from running, her two braids were a bit frizzy from the heat. Smiling, Lance tucked a few stay strands behind Sofia's ear.

"Cariño, what's up?"

"The party's fun." Sofia detached from Lance to hug Keith. "Hello!"

"Hi," Keith patted Sofia's back. "Did you know this is your graduation?"

"I did, I just didn't know how to say it," Sofia sniffed, then tested the word on her tongue. "Grad-u-a-tion."

Allura jogged over, obviously exhausted. "Sofia, you see your parents _after_ the ceremony!" She wiped her hands on her spring dress then held one out for Sofia to take. Sofia whined but obliged.

It caught up to Lance what Allura just said. "Allura, we're not—!"

The woman flapped her hand and smirked. "Oh, it's the same thing, with how you two act. Now sit down, this thing has to get started!" Lance rolled his eyes, and Keith snickered. 

After a few more minutes and more than a few shushings later, graduation music played from the kindergarten's speakers. The kindergarteners filed out on the raised stage in mostly straight lines. The music looped, and Lance could hear the break between the beginning and the end. Every single one of the kids' caps was tilted off-center, and Allura had pulled her hair into a ponytail as tight as her smile. But when Sofia squealed and waved at him, and Keith scrambled to take a picture, Lance felt all his tension wash away. Besides, who needs perfect when you're happy?

***

Sofia kicked her legs out from under her little purple graduation gown and licked at her ice cream. Keith, Lance, and Sofia sat around a circular table in an ice cream shop. Sofia stole a sip of Lance's milkshake and a cherry from Lance and Keith's shared sundae. Keith fiddled with Lance's pinky under the table. Lance felt the happiness in his heart swell once more before he remembered something that made this stomach flutter nervously. Lance turned to look at Keith, and he smiled encouragingly.

Lance shifter to catch Sofia's attention. "Sofia, you know how I don't have a girlfriend or boyfriend, or wife or husband?"

Sofia nodded. "Yes," she trailed off, confused.

"Well," Lance took a deep breath. "Over the last few months, Keith and I decided to be more than friends." He cracked a smile. "We're dating now."

Sofia squinted as she processed the words. Just like Keith does. "You mean," she said slowly, "you'll be all kissy and give flowers and stuff?"

Lance nodded.

Sofia face cleared. "Ah! I heard Miss Allura talk to Coran that you and Keith were like that, but I figured it out myself!"

Keith raised my eyebrows and shared a look with Lance. Lance suppressed a surprised giggle. "Not bad, Sofia," Keith said and slurped at Lance's milkshake. "Gossipers," he muttered.

Lance shook his head fondly and went in for a kiss.

They finished their desserts and Lance started walking to pull their further parked car closer to their street. After a few seconds, Sofia straying to Keith's side.

"So what's going to be your first gift as boyfriends? Boyfriends have to give gifts." Sofia said that like it was obvious.

Keith smiled. "Well, it's not going to be my first gift, but I might have an idea." He leaned down to whisper it to Sofia's ear.

Sofia gasped and her eyes brightened. "Can we, can we?" she pleaded.

Keith grinned, excitement brimming. "I'm working on it."

***

Keith relaxed on Lance's couch, scrolling through twitter, and Sofia leaned on him and drew in a new sketchbook. Lance sat on the floor, flicking through Netflix on his computer. Lance grunted as he stood up and stretched. "I need to run and get some extra groceries. Can you pick a movie for us?" Keith gave him a thumbs up, and Lance wandered off. Once he was out of sight, Keith and Sofia lept into action.

"Do it now, Keith!" Sofia clutched at Keith's arm.

"I'm trying, I'm trying...!" Keith fumbled with his phone to switch to contracts. He pulled up Shiro's number and pressed call. It buzzed for a bit before Shiro picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hi!" Sofia piped up.

"Oh, hey!" Shiro's voice softened. "Are you... are you Lance's kid?"

"Yeah, I'm Sofia!"

Keith interjected. "We wanted to ask you a favor." Shiro hummed. "Well, how do you feel about helping us build a koi pond?" Sofia and Keith exchanged a grin.

***

It was right after Keith ended the call that Lance returned home.

"Hey, what are you two all sneaky about?" Lance plopped himself down next to Keith, and Sofia crawled into his lap. Sofia gasped "nothing!" at the same time Keith whispered, "how did you know?"

"Well, to answer Keith's question, the computer is still exactly where I left it." Keith huffed and threw his head back on the couch. Lance laughed. "And for Sofia, just look at your guilty face!" Lance pinched her cheeks, and Sofia pouted without heat.

"Well anyways," Keith said. "We weren't doing anything."

Lance hummed. "Well I call b—" He glanced at Sofia— "that a lie, but I'm too lazy to do anything about it." Lance bounced Sofia on his lap. "Cariño, what do you want to watch?"

"Nemo." Keith clicked to the movie, and it started to play.

By the time the turtles were on screen, Sofia was fast asleep. Lance felt his eyes slip, having to refocus every few seconds. He yawned and his head fell on Keith's shoulder. Keith noticed, and lowered the movie's volume.

"Hey," Keith whispered fondly. "You wanna go to bed?"

Lance grumbled. "Keep the movie on." Keith smiled and wrapped an arm around Lance's shoulder, kissing his temple gently. Lance snuggled closer. "Keith, it would be so cool if you just stayed here." 

"I can stay tonight."

"No, like, every day. Wouldn't that be great?" Lance sighed. 

Keith laughed softly and grinned. "Honestly, that sounds great. But maybe in a few more months, or a year. I’ll save up some money, then we can split pay, 50-50."

Adoration dawned on Lance’s face, and he grinned as bright as the sun. “I like that. Let's wait. And then we'll see." 

Keith smiled. "Sounds great to me."

Lance pecked at Keith's lips the best he could when sleepy. "Thank you, amor."

Keith lied his head on top of Lance's and lowered the volume to mute. He set the remote next to him and closed his eyes. It was only a few minutes later when the two men were asleep as well. So they slept on the couch, the movie on mute, on a Friday night in each other's arms. And nothing felt better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Off the record, the pond was for Sofia as much as it was for Lance, Keith knew how much she wanted it as well, and he loves spoiling the girl.
> 
> Thank you for those who stuck around till the end, and also to those who just found it but read it all the way through! ✩ᏊꈍꈊꈍᏊ Anyways, this is definitely not gonna be my last klance story, I have way too many ideas for that to happen. But gosh, I'm gonna miss Sofia so much,,, ꒰⌯͒•̩̩̩́ _ •̩̩̩̀⌯͒꒱
> 
> My Art Insta (maybe I'll draw more Sofia on there): @ramenbroodle


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